Blood vs Water
by Pengping
Summary: Post-Avengers. Sequel to "Shadows of the Past." Loki is free from the dungeon, but he's not alone. Black Cell inmate Lorelei is also free, and eager to kill Asgard's royal family and become queen. Tilaria also failed in her mission against Asgard, but she has a backup plan that's about to be put into motion. Can Loki and Odin stop fighting long enough to save Asgard? NO PAIRINGS.
1. An Old Vendetta

Although Loki's magic had extinguished the fires that had been razing Asgard's surface, a few embers still fluttered in the air. Their red colors were illuminated by the last traces of sunrise. Those few embers were extinguished quickly by the mages. With the anti-fire charms destroyed they couldn't risk another blaze starting.

The air, still thick with blood and smoke, proved how terrible those fires had been. All of the bodies and shrapnel and rubble had proved just how helpless Asgard had been against the onslaught of a Celestial invasion.

A slight breeze tossed dust into Fandral's eyes as he stood on the palace's steps. Fandral couldn't tear his eyes from the razed ruins of his home. We lost.

The Celestial mothership had left and all the fighter craft and warriors left behind were dead, but so many Asgardians had been killed to fend off the attack. The Celestials had torn through the ranks of the Star Guard, and they had been helpless to stop them. Fandral's hand started trembling again, and he clenched the hilt of his rapier to try and stop it. When that failed he slashed the air a few times with the rapier to vent his frustration.

The Star Guard had barely slowed the Celestial warriors down. It had been like this in the last Celestial War as well, getting tossed around like toys and killed one after the next. It was the Raven Blades who had gotten all of the kills in the latest battle while this time Loki had chased away the mothership.

Loki had managed to save not only Asgard, but Thor as well, and he'd done it while fighting off Tilaria. To have Tilaria's soul rewritten so she didn't even remember him and for her to be trying so hard to kill him, was sad. This was not a fate he would wish even on Loki.

Perhaps Fandral was taking pity on Loki because Loki had helped. He shouldn't be though, not for Loki. Loki had let Jötnar into the Weapon's Vault during Thor's coronation, tried to kill Thor at least three times, wiped out his own race, and attacked an innocent realm at the head of an alien army. Although his actions with Thor's coronation and New York were out of character for Loki there was no doubt it had happened. His colors had changed, and trusting him was dangerous.

"Fandral," someone behind him announced as he walked over.

Fandral drew himself from his dark thoughts and finally averted his eyes from the ruins of the once proud city to Hogun. "Any sign?"

"Loki is an expert at stealth and espionage," Hogun relayed dourly. "We will not find him until he wants to be found."

Fandral had suspected as much. "Any other prisoners?"

"Marauders," Hogun noted, "few wished to surrender."

His mace was still dripping in blood as proof of his statement, and again Fandral was unsurprised.

"One did," Hogun's normal somber expression darkened even more.

Now Fandral was taken aback, "who?"

Hogun dodged the question. "Those in the upper cells were not the only ones that were freed by the Celestials. The way he tells it, those in the black cells escaped to."

"Black... cells…?" Fandral whispered. That didn't sink in. "He has to be lying."

"His memories confirm that he was ambushed by the Cadet Killer and we've already been down in the lower levels," Hogun disagreed sadly.

"Dalkr is free?" Fandral remembered the killing rampage Dalkr had gone on. "Does that mean all the other are to?"

"The Black Cells are empty," Hogun cringed almost as he said it. "One of the Guards thought he saw Lorelei for a moment before she cloaked herself, and we've confirmed that Freyr has killed three Star Guard."

Lorelei was Amora's sister and a mage as well. Her magic was centered on manipulating minds. She could make any man fall in love with her and do whatever she wanted without question. It was like Loki's scepter in a way. For most, simply hearing the sound of her voice was enough but those with unusually strong minds would still succumb with a single touch from her.

She had been turned loose on Asgard once before, and had charmed most of the Star Guard and even Prince Thor into following her every whim. Sif and some of the female mages had managed to subdue her. Loki hadn't been caught in her web only because he had managed to stay far enough away from her.

Fandral clenched his teeth together at the memory of being swayed by Lorelei into attacking his friends and family with a smile and cheerful "Milady" to Lorelei. He had also been the age of a cadet when Dalkr had been killing cadets, and there had been some days where Fandral had been so scared to leave the house that he hadn't even gone to Gladsheimr to visit Thor.

Lorelei and Dalkr were some of the worse prisoners in the black cells, but there were others that outshined them. Freyr was one of them. He was the twin sister of Freyja, and since he was born without magic he had tried to murder his sister and steal hers. His weapon was an enchanted sword with a Wraith trapped inside named Annalayana, although he usually just called her Anna. Wraiths were beings from a different part of the Multiverse, and to have the Wraith's power had not made him easy to deal with.

Now all of Asgard's most horrid criminals were loose again. Fandral and the rest of Asgard would have to face them _and_ the Celestials at once. The Celestials were the least of Asgard's problems.

That thought was too terrifying to focus on right now so Fandral set it aside to brood later. "I want to speak to this Marauder."

"You do not," Hogun warned.

"I don't know that yet because you haven't told me who he is." Fandral responded patiently, letting a note of exasperation slip into his voice.

Hogun could tell that Fandral wasn't going to stop, so he reluctantly relented. "It's Kasir."

"Kasir?" Shock illuminated Fandral's brown eyes for a moment.

Then he stormed past Hogun and almost ran to the dungeon, drawing both of his rapiers. One memory clouded Fandral's mind at Kasir's name. T _hat rainy day on Vanaheim when Kasir had returned after being missing for a few months standing beside Nira and her Marauders. Fandral's blades had clashed with Kasir's that day while rain poured, thunder made the ground shake, and lightning illuminated the field. Traitor._

Hogun raced after him, and managed to grab his sleeve. He didn't say anything but after a minute of Fandral struggling unsuccessfully to extract himself, he stopped. His grip tightened on the one rapier he had drawn as if he was going to strike at Hogun to force him to let go, but then relaxed as the thought passed by.

"Don't try and stop me," Fandral warned Hogun. "Kasir should have been killed long ago. He was never brought to justice for his crimes before because he was never captured. Now for the first time, he's in a cell."

"So you will try, judge, and execute him?" Hogun asked solemnly. "Where does your right come from?"

Fandral threw down his rapier at Hogun's innocent words and yanked up his shirt. There was a jagged scar along his right side between two of his lower ribs.

"This does, this gives me the right," Fandral responded with a snarl in his voice and features twisted in hate. "That traitor was my oldest friends before he deserted Asgard and although he only managed to scar my side, he was aiming for my throat. You're the one that chased Kasir off before he could kill me Hogun, you know I speak the truth."

"If he had contact with Dalkr, then he is a source of information," Hogun promised. He would not disagree with Fandral, but nor could he agree. "We should hear his story."

Fandral glared at him before hooking his thrown rapier with his boot and tossing it up into the air so he could catch it. "Fine, but just to hear the traitor's story."

* * *

The safeguards around the dungeon's door were still destroyed. All of the guards were on the ground where they had fallen, still stripped of their clothes and gear. Out of respect, the other guards had covered the bodies with their gold cloaks. Asgard had been so busy hunting the Marauders after Bifrost was repaired that they had filled the cells with them, outnumbering the guards ten to one.

The dungeon was quiet. A dungeon was supposed to be quiet, but the quiet of this one sent a chill down Fandral's spine. The sooner the cells were refilled the better. Its emptiness filled Fandral with a terror of knowing that all of those prisoners were now loose.

There was one cell with its golden forcefield active, and it had a lone prisoner in it. The prisoner was lounging on his back with his arms crossed behind his head. A worn Star Guard was near the cell.

The guard saluted in greeting, and the movement attracted the prisoner's attention. He turned his head and smiled when he saw Fandral outside the barrier.

"Long time no see friend," Kasir greeted him.

"Kasir," Fandral growled.

Unlike some Marauders who had been born into the life of a killer, Kasir had been raised on Asgard. He had willingly deserted his post, and betrayed his home and family in order to become a bandit.

"I take it word of my story has reached you." Kasir mused with the same normal carefree smile Fandral had learned from him, and pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Yes," Fandral agreed. "It is pleasing to see you behind bars at last where you belong, traitor."

"Yet you have the scar," Kasir pointed out. "Anytime you want a rematch just get me back my blades, and tell Hogun not to save you again."

"Repeat the story as you told me turncoat," Hogun ordered Kasir before he and Fandral could resume their duel.

Kasir shrugged innocently as if he didn't realize he had said something offensive and repeated his story. "An alien in Celestial uniform showed up and killed the guards. She used some sort of armband to explode the barriers around the cells, and then she said we were free and teleported out. The ground started rumbling after that."

"Loki had restrainer cuffs on," Hogun pried.

"Not when he stepped out of his cell," Kasir corrected. "There were chaff marks on his neck and by his ears from a muzzle, but he wasn't wearing on either."

Fandral was about to say something, but the smug tone of Kasir's voice made him simmer again.

"We rearmed ourselves," Kasir continued. "When we got to the door outside there was a Barrier in place. Loki energized the sword I claimed and broke through it before passing it back to me. I saw his show with the snowflakes before he disappeared. It seems his magic is a lot more useful than a few blades."

Without looking away from Kasir, Hogun snapped out a hand and grabbed Fandral's wrist before he managed to raise his rapier.

Hogun glanced Fandral's way, "you may finish your vendetta at a later date." He looked back to Kasir, "and you had best finish your story before I give the order to drop the forcefield."

Most prisoners would be ecstatic about that promise, but the forcefield was doing more than keeping Kasir in – it was keeping Fandral out.

Kasir snorted, "If I had my blades I would take you up on that offer Vanir."

"Continue," Hogun ordered briskly.

Although the wound on Kasir's right shoulder had healed long ago, his tunic was still bloody. "I still had that sword Loki gave me and I was looking around for a scabbard when someone threw a knife at me. I turned around and go brained in the face with a shield for my trouble. It turned out to be Dalkr. He froze me with his eyes."

"Whatever you did you didn't fight him since you're still alive," Fandral challenged.

The two swordsmen glared at each other before Kasir gritted out, "he's gone. He wanted revenge on Loki and Angborn."

For a moment, Kasir almost mentioned how he had told Dalkr to go to Midgard, but then stopped. It might be a bit more fun to let Asgard guess.

"He didn't want to hang around so he left. Left the Realm I think," Kasir elaborated. "I don't know where to. I thought he was going to kill me, but he said I was too old."

Dalkr was going to start killing children again! The thought flashed through Fandral's mind in terror. Then he looked down and gathered his thoughts. He needed to stop panicking and think clearly.

"If he's left Asgard to go on a wild goose chase after Loki then he's left," Fandral consented. "He's the problem of the citizens on whatever realm he's on now. We're too busy."

"Fandral?" Hogun frowned at his friend's statement.

Asgard was going to let Dalkr go free?

"We're too busy," Fandral repeated. "We still have the other Marauders to capture, and Dalkr's cell mates to deal with. There's damage from the Celestial attack to take care of, and we have to brace for their next strike because the Celestials will return. He's gone so he's gone, and he won't bother us."

For once Hogun wasn't pleased that Fandral was being so rational. The shock of the attack and the sobering fact that Asgard had withstood the assault only with Loki's aid was beginning to sink in at last. They really didn't have anyone to spare.

"Come Hogun, we're plenty busy as it is," Fandral muttered. "As you were."

The latter sentence was snapped at the guard and the guard repeated his earlier salute.

"Good luck without that Jötunn around to save you," Kasir shot at Fandral as his former friend turned and walked away.

Fandral did not look back. Kasir's smile was not unlike Loki's, and the similarity troubled him. Loki's actions may have been rebellious and bizarre in the past, but they had always been for the benefit of the Nine Realms. He had changed though, and so had Kasir.

"You'll need it," Kasir promised to himself quietly after Fandral's steps had begun to fade away.

There was a sorrow in his smile that Loki lacked. Unlike Loki, Kasir had never had a wish to see Asgard burn.

* * *

 **Here is the first chapter of Blood vs Water. As you can see, Loki is not the only one with old scars interfering with his life. Don't worry, Kasir isn't going to become a major character for a long time. The rest of Asgard's rulers are going to agree with Fandral that they don't have the resources or time to send someone to help with Dalkr "wherever he is."**

 **This is why Dalkr has such free rein in the compliment to _Blood vs Water_ \- _Meanwhile, Back on Midgard..._ That happens at the same time as this story but shows Angborn's POV as he deals with Dalkr and tries to work with SHIELD and the Avengers, while they keep insulting Loki. I highly advise that you read _Back on Midgard_ or you are going to be really lost later on. You don't have to read them at the same time, but do make sure to read it after you read this one.**

 ***Gladsheimr - the name of Odin's hall in Norse mythology, and the name of the golden palace on Asgard in the movies.**


	2. Time To Kill

Three of the recently freed Marauders were sitting on the floor of the bakery they had just ransacked. They filled their appetite with the bakery's goods as well as with the gold they had found. Had the family that lived on the upper floors been there, they likely would have satisfied their taste for blood.

As it was they generously split the food, and guarded their cut of the gold. Two of the three were armed with swords taken from the fallen guards and the third had a disruptor rifle from one of the Celestials alien allies. It was slung haphazardly over his shoulder. He had found it next to the body of what he supposed was a Celestial sniper who looked as if he'd been barbequed by lightning.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was approaching. The fallen glass magicked itself out of his way so he didn't step on it, and his rubber-soled boots ensured that the step was silent. He wasn't noticed until his shadow fell over the Marauders.

When they saw the shadow they jumped and all turned to the person, reaching for their purloined weapons. They hesitated once they saw their opponent was none other than Loki. The two with swords looked to the one with the rifle.

"Prince," the one with the rifle greeted, unsure exactly how to address Loki.

Loki had gotten them out of the dungeon, and he had been scheduled to be executed himself. The Marauder was fairly sure that Loki was on their side. Like his two comrades he was a foot soldier in need of a general to take orders from, and he wondered if Loki wasn't going to recruit him. After seeing his magic with the snowflakes, the three weren't going to risk arguing with him.

Loki took a step closer, not acknowledging their greeting. He wasn't looking for an army, but his magic was drained and he was hungry.

The lead Marauder set a hand on the barrel of his rifle. Something was wrong. Loki looked in a daze as he stepped forward. It sent a chill down his spine.

He was hungry, and the Marauder's seidr was plenty.

One of the Marauders glanced back at the one with the rifle curiously, a silent question as to what to do with Loki's arrival. There was a glitter as some of the evening sun touched a dagger in Loki's hand. The lead Marauder saw the glitter a second too late.

With his target's gaze averted, Loki took a step forward. The step itself was lazy, but as he put the foot down his image blurred. It was the same move he had used against Chthon. When his image reaffirmed itself his dagger had been brought up in a position that appeared to show he had struck. Loki plucked the Marauder's stolen sword from his hand as the body fell.

In one smooth move, Loki turned and threw the sword like a spear. It impaled the second Marauder between his first and second rib at the right angle to pierce the heart. The throw had enough force behind it that it had pinned the Marauder to the wall, nearly to the sword's hilt.

Drops of red were splattered across Loki's face. The body of the first Marauder finally crumbled to the ground.

Less than five seconds since the lead Marauder had seen the blade, and he finally realized they were under attack. He desperately shrugged the rifle off his shoulder, and fired without really aiming. For certain, Loki would jump away from the shot but the prince didn't flinch. The shot came so close that it almost singed his hair, but Loki did not move away when it hit the cobblestones behind him with an explosive bang.

I missed! The Marauder shot again and Loki calmly half-stepped to the right. Again the shot came close but did not hit him.

Loki used the same slow step that quickened when he put his foot down to as fast as a teleport. He grabbed the barrel of the rifle when he materialized in front of the Marauder, and slammed it upwards into the surprised Marauder's face.

The Marauder tried to let go of the weapon, but his arm was caught in the strap. Loki flipped the rifle over, further tangling the Marauder. He kicked the Marauder's leg as he twisted the tangled arm back with a snap. The cloth strap fell free of his arm at last.

The Marauder fell flat on the ground, banging his broken arm on the stone. He tried to sit back up but he heard a quiet click above his head. Loki had the rifle and he raised it to the Marauder's head in execution style. With a flash of Loki's small Jötunn fangs in a smile, Loki pulled the trigger.

The noise was somewhat muffled as it hit the Marauder in the back of the head. His body jerked and then fell to the ground. Loki slowly lowered the rifle from his shoulder where he had braced it and looked at the third body. He had the same gaze now that he had had when he'd killed the Blood Wolves in Jane's lab.

He closed his eyes after a moment and golden light traveled from the Marauders and swirled around his form. Loki closed his eyes and relished in the spike of power. His magic purred.

Fandral and Hogun ran towards the sounds of a Celestial rifle. Were the Celestials back already? The thought scared Fandral. We're still getting over the shock that there was even a first attack!

The friends screeched to a halt in sight of a bakery. Beyond them was Loki, and the last traces of the lifeforce he had stolen were fading into his form. Fandral took quick stock of the bodies, but they were only Marauders.

Loki opened his eyes and looked their way. Fandral found himself rooted to the spot, trapped in the emptiness in Loki's eyes. They didn't have the light of insanity or anything at all. He might as well have been looking at some mindless golem made solely to kill.

Then Loki blinked and his eyes were back to normal with their guarded, calculated look.

"Well, if it isn't the Calvary," Loki sniped at the two of them.

He took a step forward, and stepped on the rifle he had dropped. Curious, he looked down at it. Then he raised his eyes and took in the scene surrounding him. Loki let his shoulders slump when he realized he had done it again. It was just like when he was fighting the Blood Wolves in Jane's lab.

"What…?" Fandral whispered.

"I was hungry," Loki shrugged a defensive note in his voice. "You shouldn't be surprised since I did just use up my magic chasing off that mothership. They were the first ones I came across."

"What if the first ones you came across happened to be Star Guard?" Hogun challenged.

Loki didn't answer and let the friends draw the correct conclusion that the same thing would have happened. Fandral swallowed dryly when Loki gave a shy smile as the realization sank in that he would have killed anyone who happened to be close to him. Although Fandral had told himself before that Loki was now an enemy, but it was only in that moment that he believed his own words.

Loki gave them a sweeping bow and teleported away. His teleport rematerialized him at Heartland, Loki's personal safe haven on Asgard where he could not be found. Only then did he let his shoulders slump. He started trembling and took a step back against the wall, and then slid down to the floor in a heap.

His eyes stung, and he clenched his teeth in distress. It happened again.

When most humans thought of Vikings they thought of Berserkers in battle. Asgardian troops were sometimes armed with Berserker staffs to mimic this effect. What Loki had just done to the Marauders could be called Berserker, and he didn't even need a Berserker Staff to do it.

Chthon had taken care of that for Loki. When he started having trouble reconditioning Loki's personality to what he wanted, he had simply split it. Normally, it didn't show and Loki was himself, but sometimes the conditioning would take over like it just had with the Marauders. Although Loki fought without emotion instead of in a rage, he would leave as bloody a trail when his control lapsed.

After he had dealt with the Celestials, his energy had been low enough to cause one of those lapses. When Loki came out of a lapse, he often didn't even remember what he had done during that time. That was why he had looked at the Marauder's bodies with surprise – he hadn't remembered killing them.

Loki knew Hogun was right, and that simple truth terrified him. What if those Marauders had been Star Guard? Civilians? His own Raven Blades? The exact same thing would have happened to them because Loki just wasn't in control when he lapsed. He had gotten lucky this time, but what about the next?

Heartland, which only Loki knew the whereabouts of and always retreated to when he wanted absolutely no one around him, was essentially a giant tree house about the size of an Ambassadorial Suite at Gladsheimr. It grew in an ash tree deep within South Woods. South Woods was the forest people stayed away from because they believed it to be haunted. It wasn't haunted, but enchanted enough that bizarre things happened here, even to mages.

Loki took a deep breathe to steady himself, and stood. He walked from the dining room where he had materialized in to the sitting room and collapsed onto a chair, chest hurting. The dose he had taken from the Marauders was of the Marauders lifeforce and so naturally hadn't matched his own magic. His soul shield away from the knowledge that the dose had been taken at the cost of lives.

Lightjewels hung from the ceiling of branches like bunches of grapes, and their soft blue-white light illuminated the room. Smaller plants that bloomed like flowers sprung up from the floor of woven leaves around the edge of the room. Their light usually had a soothing effect, but it did little right now.

Loki's hand was trembling. He clenched the fingernails to his palm so hard that they left bloody crescents. That got the tremble to stop, but his chest still hurt. Stupid soul, Loki growled to it, stop fighting the dose.

Here in Heartland he was safe from Asgard, but nowhere was safe from Chthon. He needed the energy from others lifeforces to stay awake. If Loki slept, Chthon would drag him into a nightmare where the injuries were real as compensation for Loki betraying the Chitauri and losing New York on purpose.

Since Loki couldn't sleep, the only way to restore his energy was to dose himself. Because the dose was artificial and not his own magic, it wouldn't last long before he needed to do it again. Stealing lifeforce was the simplest way to get a dose.

Loki grumbled at his soul's stubbornness. It seemed he would have to synchronize the dose by hand. Like all mages, Loki's magic was his lifeforce and by giving up some of his lifeforce he was able to manipulate the world around him with spells. Often times, mages found it helpful to meditate and check in to make sure the magical lines within their soul were smooth and straight. Many mages meditated at least once a day, but Loki's magic was powerful enough that he usually meditated twice, once when he awoke and again just before he fell asleep.

Loki focused inward, and let his consciousness turn to his soul. His soul was the same emerald-black as his eyes, and the normally smooth glass like surface was scarred many times where someone had said a careless word. A broken wrist would heal and leave no trace, eventually you would forget you were ever injured. An injury to the soul was inflicted by harsh words, and they would never heal, only scar.

Most of the scars Loki had were made back when he was a child, but there were more recent ones. Tilaria's disappearance 30 years ago, and her sudden return yesterday, had left deep wounds that had yet to entirely scar. The other injury on his soul of any comparable size was the one formed when he learned he was Laufey's son.

Even Loki was astounded by how big a mess his magic was when he looked at it. Magic flowed through the body along a person's bloodstream, and the magic lines within a soul should flow like those veins, straight and untangled. His was currently twisted, knotted, kinked, and wrapped around each other. Loki realized as he looked at his magic that the best comparison was that it was an out of control rose bush.

It was little wonder his chest was hurting, and it would also explain why his doses didn't last as long as they should. If he could untangle the magic in his soul then that should help him out.

Loki apprised the mess that was his magic and scolded himself for not paying closer attention to it this past year. As he finally settled down and reached forward to untangle his magic he received a nasty shock – literally. The moment his consciousness brushed up against his tangled magic his soul repulsed him as if he were an intruder.

The movement was done with such force that Loki's consciousness was snapped out of his soul and back into the waking world of reality. Once the daze faded, Loki reached up and touched the center of his chest just below the hallow of his throat. This was where his soul was. There was blood on his tunic where his soul was.

Loki lowered his hand from his chest, and looked at the red smeared on his pale skin. His own magic had burned him. Troubled, Loki lowered his now bloody hand to the floor and looked out across the room without really seeing anything. He had heard cases where a mage's soul began to attack them, and they all pointed to one thing.

Carefully, Loki tried again and this time looked closer at his magic. He recoiled in surprise when he saw what the problem was. Just like he had thought, it wasn't his magic anymore. Now, it was the flow of Seidr of all the people he had killed to stay awake and strong.

Loki gently left his meditation again, and hung his head. There was no doubt now what Loki had done to himself. He had been so driven by vengeance on Thor, and then later without maneuvering Chthon that he had ignored his own magic. All he had done for the past fourteen months was dose himself, and he hadn't even noticed the damage it was doing.

The effects of not being able to sleep might make a mundane irritable and sleepy, but it did far worse for a mage. When you rested your lifeforce recovered, and a mage needed their sleep to recover from the drain of that day's spellwork. By not sleeping and continuously dosing himself his magic had never gotten a chance to regenerate and had been slowly replaced by the lifeforce of those he killed.

This effect was starting to hurt his soul, which was why his real body was bleeding where his soul was. A mage's magic rejecting them as a foreign entity was the first sign that their souls were going to shatter. When a person's soul shattered they did more than die. Their soul was lost to nothingness, so there was no afterlife on Niflheim.

Loki couldn't sleep, so there was no way for him to restore balance to his soul. His only option was to continue dosing himself and let it crack to the shattering point. Although he couldn't be sure, Loki sensed that if he kept up his current pace of using spells and taking doses that he would be dead within a year.

The thought didn't sink in for Loki. He should live for at least four more millennia, and he was going to be dead within a year. Unless he could find some way around Chthon to be able to sleep and restore his natural lifeforce then a year was all he had left. Loki knew already that he didn't stand a chance of doing that, so he really did have only a year left.

He had told the Celestials that he would make them pay for twisting Tilaria's soul and he had one year to make good on that promise to defeat them. It was going to be a very busy – and bloody – year.

* * *

 **I was actually worried about this chapter being too short, but it turned out to be fine. I'm not sure how well a non-mage like you reader (unless you are a mage which i will say is awesome) to understand the predicament Loki's gotten himself into. This is a critical point for Loki, even more important then finding out what the Celestials did to Tilaria. All of the hate and bloodlust and plans are something of a moot point when his lifespan has been shortened from several millenia to a single year. Like most humans who find out they're going to die in a few months he's going to get a reality check.**

 **Do you understand what's happening to Loki's soul? If not, tell me when you leave a review (As i hope you will do) and i'll go back and make it clearer.**


	3. Status Report

The day following the Celestial's initial attack was a blur for everyone. Injured soldiers and civilians were brought in, and every mage not searching was brought to the Healer's Ward to help with the wounded. After being forced to do nothing but watch from the sidelines as the battle raged, they were eager to help.

There were so many patients that even the Healer's Ward was overstuffed. The Ward was inside a spatial fold, so there was a lot more room inside the Ward then the actual space of the room. Patients lined the hallway and some were crowded into nearby rooms. Those whose injuries were minor were dragged into helping the others, and those who had been shot by a Celestial disruptor or hit by a lightsword slowly died one by one as there were not enough healers to go around.

The dead were gathered and laid in Idavöllr, a large courtyard in front of the palace where citizens would gather to hear announcements. Those working tried to lay their comrades out respectfully, but there were simply too many bodies. Much of Asgard's town had been razed and most of the casualties were civilians – some very young. The sight of a Star Guard dead would hurt his squad mates, but the bodies of the civilians they had sworn to protect was a much grimmer sight.

The Star Guard not wounded or helping out combed the city for injured Æsir, still alive Celestial allies to take as prisoners, and the escaped prisoners from the dungeon. Two Blood Wolves were out searching near the place where Thor had been shot by the Celestial. They loitered out in the street, exhausted from the search.

"How about we a quick sweep of the street and then take a break, Svanr?" One of the Blood Wolves asked.

Svanr rolled his eyes over to his temporary partner. "You're looking for a break already? Typical…"

His squadmate smiled at Svanr's scorn and waved a finger at him. "Don't tell me you're not ready for a break. _I_ won't believe you."

Svanr surrendered to his squadmate and heaved a huge sigh. "I suppose I wouldn't mind resting my feet for a little."

"Yes," his companion grinned triumphantly.

"Let's sweep this street first," Svanr interrupted.

His companion hung his head at the prospect of more work, and then looked up as an idea struck. "How about we split up, Svnar? You take the right side of the street, and I'll take the left. We'll meet at the end and then relax."

"Split up?" Svanr frowned at the suggestion, aware that their orders had been to not travel alone.

"We'll get done in half the time," his companion smiled confidently. "Besides, we'll be near each other. Just shout if you see anything."

Svanr raised a hand after his squadmate when he started to walk away, "h-hey! Where are you going? I never agreed with your plan!"

His squadmate waved without turning back around to face Svanr, and kept walking. Svanr hesitated and then let his hand drop to his side. It seemed to be decided, so he might as well search his half of the street.

Svanr walked towards the nearest of the buildings on his side of the street with his sword in hand and shield braced on his other arm in case he encountered trouble. The building he approached was a bookstore that had been gutted by yesterday's fires.

This was one of the larger stores, and there was even a staircase that led to an upper landing. Part of the roof had collapsed near the entryway, and there was a scuffle of a foot behind the staircase. The noise startled Svanr, and he fell into a defensive stance instinctively, raising his shield. He halted any potential attack of his when he saw a civilian woman with red hair and a worn blue dress hiding behind the staircase. She flinched when the light reflected off of Svanr's sword.

Svanr exhaled quietly in relief and relaxed his stance. He looked the woman over, and although it was hard to tell because she was hiding he didn't see any blood dripping onto the floor. Only ash and dust stained her dress. It seemed to his eyes that she had escaped yesterday's bloodshed safely, and that made her the lucky minority. Considering the circumstances, this woman might not even realize that the danger had passed.

"It's alright," Svanr promised the Æsir woman in a confident voice to try and soothe her terrified stance. "The Celestials have gone. You can come out."

"Did you chase them away, soldier?" The woman asked as she cautiously walked away from the cover of the stairs.

Her voice sent a zing through Svanr, and his stance straightened. His sword slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground, and he stared at the woman with open wonder. The effect of the woman's voice made his will slip away, and he was instantly enthralled by sorcery within the sound of her voice.

Svanr's expression changed from weary to love-struck. "Who are you, beautiful maiden?"

"What is your name, wonderful soldier?" The woman asked Svanr.

"Svanr," Svanr introduced and knelt on one knee as if addressing the Allfather.

"I am Lorelei," the woman in the blue dress introduced herself in turn, "and you, Svanr, will help me gather an army. I want Asgard's crown, and I'm going to need help to kill the royal family."

Svanr nodded but did not raise his head, "if that is your desire then of course."

Svanr was now under Lorelei's thrall, and his will had been voided and replaced by Lorelei's. It was an effect remarkably similar to the Chitauri Scepter Loki had used at New York only Lorelei's ability was inherit in her magic, and her thrall could not be broken by a simple hit to the head.

"It is," Lorelei her new thrall him. "You may rise."

Svanr did so, and when Lorelei held out a hand he walked over and took it. Although Lorelei's voice was enough to enthrall most men, those of strong will could resist it, but none could resist her touch. Taking Svanr's warm hand in hers was enough to seal the enthrallment.

"Svnar?" A voice called out in the street. "Where'd you go?"

Lorelei raised her head to the source of the voice. "Who is that?"

"One of my squadmates," Svanr informed her with a small smile at the exasperated edge to his companion's voice. "We were scouting this street before I found you."

"I see," Lorelei mused, "kill him for me, would you?"

"Eh?" Svanr blinked, surprised by Lorelei's order.

Lorelei did not have to order the other soldier's death, but she wanted to test out her enchantment and ensure her imprisonment hadn't dulled its effects. Svanr sighed and then knelt down to pick up his sword he had dropped earlier.

"As you wish milady," Svanr told Lorelei and started walking towards the doorway. "This won't take but a minute."

Lorelei tipped her head in dismissal, and Svanr walked out into the cobbled street and waved his sword at his squadmate. She leaned against the doorway, hidden by the debris and the shadows of the building, and watched as Svanr approached his shield-brother. His shield-brother didn't realize that anything was amiss and sheathed his sword as he approached Svanr with a friendly smile and question as to where he had gone.

Svanr shrugged off his squadmate's question, and asked him if he had found a place where the two of them could sit and rest. His squadmate had apparently because he nodded and turned his back on Svanr to lead him to where he had found. It was to be his last mistake for as he looked away, Svanr raised his sword.

Lorelei smiled in satisfaction as Svanr's squadmate crumbled to the ground a few seconds later, life bleeding out of him until his heartbeat finally stopped. Svanr shook his squadmate's blood from his sword and turned to look at Lorelei, eager for praise like a child. She nodded her approval, and looked overhead at the clear blue sky over Asgard. Despite the centuries spent in a cell she hadn't lost her touch at all. This was perfect.

* * *

Other than a few light burns and the scratches from Loki's Wyvern, the golden surface of Gladsheimr had escaped serious harm. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about the inside of Asgard's palace. Every room had been gutted and torn apart by the Celestial's forces as they searched for their missing staff.

Desks reduced to splinters, beds and furniture destroyed and the stuffing torn out and scattered like snow. Shelves had bene knocked down, closest and dressers emptied and the drawers as a mess as their contents. Those places with dishes or jars had all of their contents smashed onto the ground. Books were scattered on the ground, some with pages torn out or spines broken.

Everyone knew they had been searching for their staff but no one breathed a word of it as if speaking it would make the attack real. Throughout their fifteen thousand years as the ruler of the Nine Realms, Asgard had never lost a war. It had given a false sense of security and arrogance that they could handle anything thrown their way, and that illusion had become as shattered as neatly as the mirrors or windows of the palace.

Gladsheimr had never been ransacked like this, and there had never been this many bodies before from one battle. They had lost the battle, and the people of Asgard knew that they had lost so severely that there was little chance of winning a war. Even more troubling for them was that when they turned their eyes to the royal family for guidance they found them split.

Loki's crimes were well known by now, and the fact that Loki was not Asgard's prince had been as severe a shock as the crimes that had been committed. During Loki's attempted execution Thor had fought with Odin to protect Loki. The scars on his face were proof of that.

Odin's actions of late had seemed irrational. His order to hunt for prisoners and for Loki instead of aiding civilians was baffling. A king should protect his people not ignore them, not after what they had just been through.

Frigga was trying hard not to take sides over Loki. She knew that the royal family could not afford to be at odds with itself right now. Odin and Thor needed to stop this feud until Asgard was more stable.

Unsure what to do, the people kept their loyalty to their leaders. Their loyalty though, was split between the three. Some such as the Blood Wolves stood with Odin in his view that Loki was a Jötunn monster that needed to be killed, and the quicker the better.

The Raven Blades were among the group that agreed with Thor that Loki was still their prince and it was about time Thor's coronation was rescheduled. They waved about Loki's victory against the mothership and what he had telepathically said to it as proof that Loki was still Loki. Odin's irrational actions such as focusing on a fruitless hunt for prisoners instead of helping their own civilians was also noted.

These were the two main factions, but there following Frigga was a third obliging for peace. The third said that Asgard had just brutally been declared in a war. It should focus on that war and on the Celestials, which would be hard enough to defeat a second time, rather than bicker. This group was small in numbers.

The Celestials had timed their actions well. With the Royal Family fractured and the people taking sides against each other the possibility of a civil war existed for the first time in fifteen thousand years. Those with Loki and his Ravens bristled at those that agreed with Odin and the Wolves.

Although things had not risen to a civil war yet, the frightening possibility remained. Not only did Asgard now have to fight the Celestials and possibly each other, they also had to deal with the Black Cell prisoners who had escaped. Each one of them was powerful enough to count as their own enemy front, and they would undoubtedly recruit the escaped Marauders into their own army. Only a fool fights a war on two fronts.

Now that the dust was starting to settle, it was all too possible that the other realms would see Asgard's scars from the raid and use this as an opportunity to defeat them. Jotunnheim was not the only realm to have the heart of its power sitting in the Weapon's Vault. That made it a war on at least three fronts, the Celestials, prisoners, and other realms. Only the prince of fools fights a war on three fronts.

The tension and conflict across the realms was because of Loki's actions last year. During the Celestial War 30 years ago, Loki had been the one to unite the Nine Realms into a single fighting force called the Alliance and he was the only one the rulers of all the realms trusted with their armies. He had been the Commanding General of the armies of all the realms both living and dead, but now that trust – and the fragile trust that had been beginning to form between Asgard and the realms it ruled – was shattered just like the Bifrost had been.

Loki was not aware of Lorelei's reappearance although he knew already that the trust had been broken because of him would prove crippling in the coming fight. While Thor rested from getting shot by the Celestial disruptor, Loki was in Heartland trying to untangle his magic and increase his lifespan by a few precious days.

Though his magic still stung him, Loki ignored the pain and continued smoothing out the currents of his seidr. He was still where he had collapsed earlier in the day and was between awake and asleep, just out of Chthon's reach as he worked. The knowledge of his approaching death hadn't sunk in for Loki yet.

When he had been thrown in the dungeon he had been stripped of his daggers and his ring. All three of those artifacts had jewels that literally hummed with his own magic, and his ring was one of two artifacts in existence to ever be forged with Dragon's Flame – the most magical and powerful substance in the Realms. If he could get any of them, or even just his dragon ring back, then he could dose himself with the magic stored inside. Since it was his lifeforce stored in the jewels it would be a stable dose and that could do wonders for his soul.

He still had quite a list of chore's to do in the meantime: save Tilaria, defeat the Celestials, put Chthon in his place, and see Thor crowned.

Loki paused in his work. That wasn't what he meant. He meant finish his fight with Thor.

Now that Thor had learned a little humility he would make a good king, but that was not Loki's concern anymore. He was not Asgardian, and Asgard was not his home. Whatever happened to it happened. As long as the Celestials didn't defeat it he didn't care who did.

* * *

 **First, I will say that it is impressive that Asgard has managed to get itself into this large of a mess in so little time. The events of _Shadows of the Past_ happened within the span of a week, and most of the week is spent with Loki is his cell awaiting his execution. Only a few days have passed since Loki's failed execution, and look how drastically things have changed for everyone.**

 **If you want to get a better view of Lorelei's powers then watch the Agents of SHIELD episode " _Yes Men_." She is the main enemy in that episode, and my Lorelei is based off of the one in that episode. Sif has a grudge against Lorelei in this story, like in that episode. The episode is in the first season, and you can watch it without watching the rest of the series and not be totally lost.**

 **The next chapter will not be in such a passive voice, but like the chapter name suggests this is sort of a status report of what exactly Asgard has gotten itself into.**


	4. Counterstrike

Tilaria Malekithdottir leaned against the railing on the upper landing of the bridge, and looked out at the Viewscreen. Stars passed by the ship like a swarm of white sparkling arrows from the ship's hyperspace travel. She had failed in her mission, and Loki had won. A day had passed since her attack on Asgard, and although the report of the battle had already been sent to the Celestial's who ruled over the army, no response had been sent commenting on her failure. It did not sit well with her.

The communicator microbonded to the back of her left hand hummed, and Tilaria looked down at it. She had muted it earlier, and was now glad that she had because she had an incoming communication. That would be the response to her report that she had been waiting for. The delay troubled her though and she reached up and turned the alert off.

Only the vulture of a Vice General, the Æsir Sigurd, had noticed he had received a summons, and he casually leaned back in the chair on the bridge he had commandeered. His expression was smug. He knew that he might soon be given her rank for her failure.

Tilaria pretended that she hadn't noticed him and walked calmly to the ready room she had been given so the bridge crew would not suspect she had been summoned. She had failed what could possibly be the single most important mission in the Celestial Regime, and even worse, she had allowed Loki to join forces with Asgard. The threat of the Alliance of the Nine Realms now loomed before the Celestials because of her failure.

Sigurd knew that. That was why he hadn't already taken his starship in the hanger and gone ahead of the larger and slower warship. If Tilaria was demoted for this blunder as was likely, then the Celestials would need a new High General. Since Sigurd's rank of Vice General was only one step below Tilaria's he was one of the most likely to receive that a promotion while Tilaria lost a ring.

Not going to happen Sigurd, Tilaria thought to herself as the doors to the ready room opened and she walked inside. She was a High General, and she was not going to let Sigurd anywhere near the rings on her uniform's sleeves. Somehow, she would talk High Commander Arjax into letting her keep the third red ring that announced her rank was a High General. Sigurd aside, Tilaria wasn't sure how she was going to manage it. She had only one ace that could save her rank, and how she presented it would determine her rank.

Tilaria walked to the holocomm, her movements calmer then she felt. After almost 30 years of active service she had finally failed a mission and lost her perfect record. Of all the missions she could have failed, why did she have to fail this one?

It was my fault, Tilaria rehearsed to herself as she tapped on the holocomm, I underestimated Laufeyson's power. She knew that taking responsibility for her failure would help her.

Virana and her squad had completed their mission. When they had returned without the staff, Tilaria hadn't been surprised. It had been expected that Loki would have hidden it well. There was no way for Tilaria to shift the blame onto her, or Sigurd despite his unscheduled appearance.

She still had her ace though.

In a way, it was better for Tilaria that he was speaking to her through the holocomm instead of waiting for her to return to base. Arjax couldn't reach through a hologram and strangle her like he might do if she had been speaking to him face-to-face. The fact that Arjax had put himself at a disadvantage made her disquiet grow. Had he already made up his mind to demote her, and wasn't going to listen to what she had to say?

The holocomm responded as the transmission synchronized and a full-body image of Arjax appeared. Due to the restrictions of the technology, Arjax looked only a foot taller than Tilaria instead of a few dozen feet. Tilaria instantly stepped away from the holocomm's console and dropped to one knee, head lowered similar to an Æsir soldier addressing the Allfather.

"I believe an explanation for the events on Asgard are in order Vice General," Arjax addressed Tilaria stiffly.

Tilaria curled her fingernails into her palm. Arjax had demoted her rank when he had addressed her, and that did not bode well. He was giving her a chance to explain though, so Tilaria still stood a chance at keeping her real rank rather than the one Arjax had said.

"I underestimated Loki's power," Tilaria admitted. "He was not raised on Jötunnheim, but among a culture where his ice magic was suppressed. Considering that ice kills Chitauri I did not believe he would have received training there. His power level is not proportional to any instruction he received."

"You forget why the Chitauri picked him," Arjax snapped. "Laufey's son tamed an Infinity Stone as a child with no training. He turned it to his will and received scarce more than burns on his hands where any other mortal would have been vaporized. Not even the Elder God Chthon has as much control over the Infinity Jewels. His ice dragon is yet another example of his capabilities!"

Tilaria did not move as Arjax's voice got louder. She had it coming although she had thought that her previously perfect record for the past thirty years would give her some credit. Only when he finished speaking did she move and summon her ace.

Using her magic she pulled a small metal disk from her belt and let it hover in one palm as she kept her head lowered. There were eight lights spaced equidistant from the center of the disk and each other. Two were lit red. In the middle of them was a small button.

Arjax recognized what it was and fell quiet, curious to hear what she would say. Tilaria was relieved.

"The secondary objective was completed, High Commander. The palace was searched with no sign of the staff, but I gave extra orders to Virana and her squadron to plant two explosives I made especially for the Æsir." Tilaria announced. "As both of the lights are still active neither has been found. They are already armed and I merely need to press the button to detonate them."

"Why have you not done so yet?" Arjax asked, but the demanding tone from his voice had lessened.

He knew how wonderful of a general Tilaria had become since her old memories of growing up in the Nine Realms with Loki had been erased. Obviously the detonator floating in her hand was a tactic to try and keep her rank of High General, and Arjax was curious to see what this plan was. Tilaria usually had a plan, and planting bombs had not been part of the mission objective.

"One of the explosives is in the Healer's Ward. By giving Asgard until tomorrow to detonate, it ensures a maximum amount of injured warriors will be killed. Losing their main medical facility along with their healers will be demoralizing and frightful for Asgard. Plus, once it is destroyed, Asgard will have nowhere to send their wounded, and they will die."

Tilaria held her breath as Arjax mused the point over. Setting the explosives had not been part of the original plan, but a touch of Tilaria herself. Arjax liked initiative. Would the pleasant surprise be enough to save her rank?

Arjax had to admit, the prospect of her plan was impressive. "What type of explosives are they?"

Tilaria felt a rush of relief but said nothing and kept her emotions hidden. "C-Type Tri-Rathlin. That's not too powerful on its own, but it is undetectable by mages. I added a little surprise." She paused for affect, "they're filled with Fel flames."

Now Arjax nodded. Fel was a forbidden branch of magic that had been created by the Elder Gods. It had also led to their destruction. Tilaria was one of the few mortals who knew how to use it, but even she rarely touched it. Normal magic manipulated and changed matter and energy, neither creating nor destroying, but Fel destroyed, leaving only a void behind. It was the anti-thesis to how magic should work. Flames made from Fel were hot enough to burn normal fire and despite its unstable essence, it was nearly impossible to extinguish it by magical or mundane means.

"When will you detonate them?" Arjax asked, giving Tilaria authority over the issue. "Soon I hope, before too many wounded recover."

"The second explosive is planted in the council chambers where tomorrow, Asgard's leaders will assemble to discuss the attack and what they will do next. When they are assembled I will detonate both," Tilaria promised. "Prince Thor will likely be present as well as his father. It might be possible to eliminate all of Asgard's leaders at once."

"That is doubtful," Arjax said. His tone of voice had changed to a contemplative one and Tilaria knew she was safe. "Even eliminating some will do though. Very well, discharge the explosives when you believe the time is correct High General."

"Yes my lord," Tilaria said.

The hologram vanished with a rush of static, and only then did Tilaria finally raise her head. She let her shoulders slump and exhaled in relief. Her spell ended and she caught the detonator in her hand.

She stood sharply as the doors to the ready room hissed open, and slipped the detonator up a sleeve as she unclipped one of her lightswords on her belt with her other hand. The visitor was Sigurd, and he looked surprised that there was no transmission going. Tilaria clipped the lightsword hilt back onto her belt, and took advantage of the chance to return the smug smile Sigurd had given her.

Sigurd tssked at her smile, guessing already that he was not getting Tilaria's rank anytime soon.

"What are you doing here?" Tilaria asked confidently. "Were you expecting something?"

Like Arjax to summon you to inform you that I had been demoted and that you were the new High General? Tilaria's unspoken question echoed in the ready room, and the two realmers faced off.

"Nothing," Sigurd surrendered. "You had a transmission and I thought we might be getting new orders."

Tilaria would credit Sigurd on his recovery, and so she played along with him. "No new orders. We're to rendezvous with the base tomorrow and await redeployment there."

"I see," Sigurd said quietly.

He tipped his neck in a stiff mockery of a bow, and turned on his heel to stalk as calmly as possible from Tilaria's presence. Tilaria waited until he had gone, and then let the detonator fall form her sleeve back into her palm. She held it up to the white lights that illuminated the starship, and smiled appreciatively the piece of metal.

"You," she addressed the detonator with a smile that showed her fangs, "are marvelous."

* * *

 **Fel is a big bad in magic and this isn't the first time it's been mentioned. I get the feeling you readers don't like this story. Can you tell me why? Is it Tilaria or her being Malekith's daughter? Because there is a really good explanation for that. The Celestials are real Marvel villains and I'm not the first one to incorporate them into a fanfic.**


	5. Former Brothers

Thor stood in the doorway of his room later that same day and looked at the ruined wreck of his room, unsure where to start to clean up. His chest hurt as he stood there and he felt cold, but Thor didn't mind. Although some of Loki's artificial ice veins he had crafted had melted as Thor's real blood vessels had healed, much remained. Loki had saved him.

The mid-morning light shone through the broken glass doors that led onto Thor's balcony, and reflected off the fragments of glass from the doors and his mirror that had been scattered throughout the room. Almost 24 hours had passed since the Celestial's sudden return, and the shock had only now abided enough for Asgard to start repairing the realm.

There was a click, and a scrap of Thor's red silk sheets moved. A pair of glowing green snake eyes showed through the black shadows under the silk, and Thor smiled in relief when he saw that. The creature under the sheet revealed itself to be Slítas as Thor had thought, and the cobra slithered between the ruins in Thor's room and came to rest on a piece of his desk. He looked unharmed, but the scales by his mouth were colored red.

Thor had left Slítas in his room when he had hotwired the communication system to broadcast Freyja's recorded message, and in all the chaos of the Celestials he had never had a chance to return to his room until now. Although Slítas had been left in room it seemed Loki's friend had managed to escape unharmed and had even scored a victory if his bloody muzzle was any indication.

Carefully, Thor picked his way through the ruins of his belongings scattered on the floor. He knelt by Slítas and scratched him under his chin like a cat, elicited a soft purr from the snake. Slítas relished in the attention for a few seconds and then leaned his head back and held his tail up to Thor. His tail was wrapped around a plain copper ring with a single red quartz crystal embedded in it.

Thor recognized the ring, and he held out a hand. Slítas uncurled his tail from the ring and dropped it into Thor's hand. Warmth spread along Thor's palms from the magic woven into the ring. The Celestials must have tried to take it, and Slítas had defended it.

Thor nodded thanks to Slítas, and the snake tipped his head in a silent "you're welcome."

There was magic in this ring, so it was little wonder the Celestials would try and take it. They had probably mistaken the Staff for being stored within the jewel. Thor gazed at the ring that Loki had given him sadly. It had been centuries ago as a Yuletide gift, but it felt like a lifetime. He closed his eyes as he thought back to that morning.

 _As Thor did every Yuletide morning, he had woken up with the sun and burst into Loki's room and awoken him so the brothers could give each other their presents first. Loki wasn't always appreciative of Thor's excitement and had hexed his pillows to attack Thor this time. The pillows were now back on Loki's bed, and Thor was looking at the ring Loki had given him._

 _"I can feel its magic brother, but what does it do?" Thor asked carefully as he looked at the ring sitting in the palm of his hand._

 _"Several things that I won't ruin the surprise for," Loki answered vaguely knowing that it would irritate Thor. "One of the things is a night vision spell that you can use on yourself."_

 _Thor turned his attention from peering into the crystal to Loki in shock._

At that time, Thor had a very common and yet horridly embarrassing fear. He had been scared of the dark. Though he had tried to hide it, Loki had eventually figured it out. Thor had believed that Loki was going to terrorize him with it or tell someone, but he hadn't.

He'd kept Thor's fear a secret and even helped cover for him when it was night and Thor's friends wanted to do something outside. Loki must have realized at some point after he had given Thor the ring that Thor wasn't going to get over his fear on his own, and that the ring meant to aid him was becoming a desperate crutch.

So one cloudless night under the dim light of a half-moon, Loki had lured Thor out into the forest and stolen the ring he had given him. Without the night vision spell he had been terrified and helpless. For two hours he had wondered around, jumping at every sound and raising the sword he had brought at it.

Loki had patiently shadowed Thor out of sight just in case head a panic attack or something and truly needed help, but otherwise had been content to watch. He had been so intent on watching over Thor in the night that he hadn't realized the forest's wolf pack had approached him until one of them had grabbed his arm in its jaws.

Thor had forgotten about his fear that night in his rush to defend his brother, and it had never come back to haunt him again. Both boys got a thorough scolding for being in the forest alone that late, and Loki's arm had ended up in a sling. Loki hadn't minded the damage to his arm because in his eyes, an injury as minor as this was well worth it if it helped Thor get over his fear and become a better warrior and future king.

Loki had set the ring back on Thor's desk the next night, confident that its night vision charm would be an asset for Thor instead of a desperate crutch.

There was nothing Loki wouldn't do to help Thor, and Thor had vowed to keep him safe. Woe bestow anyone that tried to harm one brother and risked the wrath of the other. How was it that all of that trust and loyalty built over a millennia could be shattered in the span of a single day?

Thor put the ring back on his right hand instinctively, not wanting to leave it laying around it again. Something tugged at the hem of his pants, and he looked down to see Slítas had his pants in his jaws. When Slítas looked up and saw that he had Thor's attention he released the cloth and pointed towards the doorway with his blood-stained muzzle.

The mood-changing crystals by his eyes were an excited amber color, and the snake coiled loosely around one of Thor's arms. Something had his attention, and he wanted Thor to see it. When Thor didn't move towards the doorway as Slítas desired, Slítas's crystals turned pink and it gave an irritated hiss at him. Thor decided it might be in his best interest to humor Slítas, and so he walked out of his room.

Slítas pointed down the hallway, and Thor obediently started walking the way Slítas pointed. Loki's room was along his route, and he stopped in front of the kicked open doors of Loki's room next to his. Even Loki's protective barriers around his room weren't enough to keep the intruders out. He peered inside, and Slítas didn't stop him. The Raven Blades had removed all of Loki's valuables and other irreplaceable objects from his room long ago so it was mostly just clothes, writing supplies, and common books that lay scattered around his ransacked room.

He stood in the doorway for a long moment, swamped by memories of his brother. Thor carefully stepped inside, but made sure not to step anything underfoot for fear of Loki shouting at him. Heh, was that all he was afraid off? What an old habit.

When Loki had first fallen off Bifrost, Thor had been distraught beyond comfort. He had not been told that Loki was Laufey's son, or that he had learned that face so he had no idea why Loki had done what he did. Power corrupts, but Loki was a rare soul, and it always seemed to Thor that the more power Loki had the more trustworthy and noble he became – like when he'd led the armies of the realms in the Alliance.

Thor had never believed, even for a second, his father's story that Loki must have wanted the power of a king and so that fueled his plot. Loki never asked for power, and he didn't have the attention span to sit on a throne. He was a wanderer and a knowledge-seeker, here and there, between this realm and that. There was no way he'd be able to stand sitting on the throne all day, and he'd been more than happy to leave it for Thor.

There was simply no way that Loki could be a traitor and a kinslayer, not in this dimension. After Loki was gone Thor had spent most nights sleeping in Loki's bed rather than his own. Because of his slight sensitivity to magic through his touch he could feel Loki's magic saturating the air in his room, and it seemed to him that Loki's scent of pine needles and winter still clung to the sheets of his bed.

Thor hadn't been able to let him go, and when he had first learned Loki was alive on Midgard he had been overjoyed and allowed himself a tender hope that everything would somehow be alright. Then he had gone to Midgard, and New York had happened. He'd lost his faith in Loki only to learn that Loki had lost New York on purpose to stop the Chitauri from getting a foothold in the Nine Realms, and then let himself be captured so that he would be under Asgardian protection and not be dragged back to the Chitauri to answer for his treason.

Then Loki had let a chance to kill Thor slip through his fingers because he hesitated. Thor had felt so guilty after that, and he realized he had misread Loki and had been doing so since they were children. How could he not have realized Loki was merely acting so the Chitauri wouldn't yank him from his mission and make him their prisoner?

Thor sighed at his own incompetence and rubbed the scars by his eye that he had got when he had stopped his father from killing Loki. Slítas clicked and peered down at something on the floor. He curiously followed Slítas's gaze and saw a small black box by the door. It was something he'd never before.

Curiously, he knelt and picked up the box. When he tried to open it Slítas hissed and knocked it from Thor's hand with his tail. It clattered to the ground, but did not open.

"Slítas," Thor scolded and shook the hand that had been snapped, looking at the red tail-shaped mark on the back of his hand. "Why did you do that?"

Slítas didn't answer, but puffed up his hood defensively. Although it was something important he obviously didn't want Loki to see it. Thor sighed and hung his head.

"What does Loki have n there?" He asked in a resigned voice. "Cursed rune stone, Dayturn Toxin? You know I'm used to him having forbidden stuff like that, right?"

Slítas looked away again, and his crystals faded to a nervous white like snow. It must be something really forbidden or otherwise cursed for Slítas to be nervous about Thor finding out about it. Thor wasn't sure what was going on, and he carefully knelt down and picked up the small black box again. He held it in his left hand, and kept Slítas on his right hand away from the box.

With one hand he opened it, and received a surprise. Nestled inside was a ring. His first thought was that it was a cursed ring like Andvaranaut, but he realized he couldn't feel any magic coming from it at all.

It wasn't magical? Why would a mage like Loki have a ring that wasn't magical? Now that Thor looked at it, this ring didn't look like a ring a mage would wear. Instead of a thick copper band inlaid with jewels and runes, this ring was a thin ribbon of silver.

A single black pearl was on the ring, and moonstone fragments surrounded it like the petals of a lotus flower. This ring had stones instead of jewels, so magic couldn't be stored in it. It was for anesthetics, not magic. Why would Loki have something just for anesthetics? That wasn't like Loki at all.

"Moonstone and black pearl," Thor whispered.

The combination had to be there for a reason. Thor had learned some things about jewels from Loki, but not about non-magical stones. He was sure he had seen moonstone and black pearl together before, but where?

He smiled as he remembered seeing Tilaria wearing a chain circlet around her brow embedded with black pearl and moonstone that had been made for her by the Dæmons. This ring was probably a gift for Tilaria then, but why give her a gift that she couldn't' use her magic with? Then it hit Thor, and he closed the box with a snap and lowered it to his side.

"Oh," he whispered and looked to Slítas for confirmation.

Slítas drooped his head, and a sad lavender shade tainting the white crystals. He knew that Loki and Tilaria had been close before her disappearance, and he supposed he should have seen this coming. It was an engagement ring. Before she had vanished and her room left drenched in own blood, he had been planning to ask Tilaria to marry him. This explained why Loki had changed so drastically after Tilaria's disappearance that day.

Thor felt something bite his hand gently, and he looked at his right arm to see Slítas nibbling on his hand. Slítas had always been around Loki, and it hadn't been just as a pet. He'd stayed as a friend and guardian of Loki. Even the three-foot long snake had managed to do more for his brother then he had, and the truth of that statement made Thor's chest hurt. How could he have been so useless?

Thor put the small box into the pocket of his trousers rather than leave it abandoned in the rubble. Doing that just didn't seem right. Why did everything always, always happen to Loki?

Slítas motioned for Thor to follow him, and Thor let the cobra direct him to the Ambassador's wing of suites. Once they started walking down the hallway Thor realized he knew where Slítas was leading him. All of the doors they passed were kicked in and Thor could see the ruins of the rooms within. Even the empty rooms had been searched, so Slítas knew that the room he was guiding the Asgardian to would be the same.

As he assumed, Slítas led Thor to the one room that had been inhabited – Tilaria's. He walked up to the doorway as Slítas desired, but stopped in the doorway with one foot raised in the air when he saw a figure standing in Tilaria's room. Thor's balance wavered, so he put his foot down before he fell and stared at the person in Tilaria's room. It was Loki, and he didn't look ant worse the wear.

Slítas dropped to the ground at the sight of Loki, and slithered between the debris to him. When Slítas clicked at him, Loki looked down. His back was to Thor so Thor couldn't see his reaction, but there was something in his voice when he spoke that sounded pleased.

"What are you doing here?" Loki asked his pet kindly and knelt on one knee to get down to Slítas's level. "I told you to keep an eye on Thor."

The smile in his voice faded, and his body tensed as his magic alerted him that Slítas hadn't left Thor.

"What do you want?" The sudden note of venom in Loki's voice made it clear he was now addressing Thor.

Thor hadn't been expecting to run into his brother, and wasn't sure what to say. He took a step forward into Tilaria's room but hovered just inside.

"I was wondering where Slítas was taking me," Thor said softly.

Loki stroked the back of his cobra's head with a vocal response. Slítas hummed satisfactorily and rubbed itself against Loki's hand like a cat. It seemed Loki hadn't been expecting to see Thor either, and he had no idea what to say. He had a feeling Slítas had set this up on purpose, troublesome reptile, didn't he know by now that Thor was no longer his brother?

Thor didn't think Loki was going to respond, so he said the first thing that came to mind to keep to keep silence from settling in. "Thank you."

Loki tensed again, but made no sound. He held out his right hand with the palm down, and Slítas recognized his cue. The snake slithered up his sleeve and vanished into his jacket.

Only once Slítas was out of sight did Loki ask quietly, "for what?"

"You chased off the Celestials and saved me… brother?" Thor's last word was more of a wary question.

Thor didn't see him move, but his clothes and hair were suddenly ruffled backward and Loki was in front of him. One of his stolen blades was at Thor's throat, just deep enough to cut through the skin. He had moved so fast that Thor hadn't seen him move. He hadn't heard the sound of teleportation, so how had he moved so quickly?

"We're not brothers," Loki promised with a quiet snarl. "And I certainly didn't do anything for you, son of Odin."

Loki tilted his head up to look at Thor better. His green eyes sparkled with the alien blue of the Tesseract, and something very dark that Thor had only caught glimpses of before.

"What did that?" Loki asked, moving his dagger from Thor's neck to tap against the scars Thor's bangs were now hiding. "Did one of your many maidens scratch you?"

Thor refused to let Loki bait him. The more hurt Loki was the crueler he acted towards others. It was a defense mechanism to try and make others feel his pain. That was what Loki was doing now. Maybe if Thor didn't run off he could make Loki use up all of his anger and hate, and finally see his little brother again. When Loki got like this, Thor knew it was foolish to try and lie to him and when Loki had a blade to his throat it could be lethal.

"Odin struck me with Gungnir," Thor said truthfully. "I wonder if he wasn't aiming for my throat."

"Odin?" Loki challenged brazenly, "not father?"

"It was during your execution." Thor replied, his temper rising without meaning to. "You were too busy fighting Blood Wolves to notice him, but Odin was going to shoot you with Gungnir. I could scarcely let him although Angborn did more good then I to protect you."

Loki didn't respond. He leaned back and was suddenly in the middle of Tilaria's room. Pieces of cloth fluttered by the breeze generated from Loki's speed, proof that it _was_ speed and not teleportation. The dagger vanished up his sleeve with a flick of the hand holding it. Had Thor's blatant honesty calmed Loki's hate?

The fragments of glass littering the ground sparkled and reflected emerald-black light. They rose off the ground and flew back to their places, some to the mirror on Tilaria's vanity and some to the glass doors that led to her balcony. Torn out pages from books smoothed out and returned to the book's spine before levitating through the air to the shelf where they were supposed to be.

Thor stood back and stayed respectfully quiet as Loki continued to repair the damage the Celestial's had wrought to her room. The irony of the Celestials destroying Tilaria's room did not pass Thor unnoticed, but he knew better than to mention her. Against his will, Thor half-closed his eyes and relished in the feel of Loki's magic as he worked. This past year the only magic he had seen from Loki were battle spells honed to kill, and they felt very different than the reconstruction magic Loki was now using. Being around Loki and the feel of his magic just made Thor feel safe.

Thor relaxed to the point that he lowered his guard and carelessly asked, "Why did you save me?"

He realized a moment too late that he shouldn't have asked that, ad Loki glanced in the reconstructed mirror so he could look at Thor without turning around. Thor felt the heat rise to his cheeks, and he looked away from the bizarre look Loki was giving him.

Loki averted his eyes from the mirror and chuckled gently, "not for the reason you think Æsir."

Thor was surprised by the comment, and responded, "and what reason is that?"

"That I saved you because I was concerned about you," Loki tossed out carelessly as the sheets of Tilaria's bed fluttered over to the mattress and the bed made itself. "We started a fight on Bifrost last year and we never got to finish it. I can't kill you if you're already dead."

Loki's comment stung although Thor did his best to hide it. Why was killing him all Loki cared about? How could things have changed so quickly in a single year? Thor couldn't fault Loki though since it was his fault. Finding out he was Laufey's son had been the trigger to make Loki lash out, but all of his hate and anger would have to build before that. If Thor had realized how much pain Loki was in then all of this could have been avoided, but he was too busy going off on foolish adventures to realize what was happening to his brother.

Loki had been standing still while his magic worked, but he now knelt down and physically picked up a necklace with a pendent shaped like a compass rose. The pendent was made from Loki's ice, and frosted over like a windowpane on a cold day so you couldn't see past the surface. He cradled it gently like one of the injured birds he used to nurse back to health as a child.

No, Thor thought and relaxed his shoulders. Killing Thor wasn't all Loki cared about. He had given that necklace to Tilaria at the end of the First Celestial War. Loki still remembered Tilaria, and he had decided to help Asgard.

Loki ran a hand along the torn blood-black ribbon the pendant hung from, and the ribbon rewove itself. He walked over to Tilaria's vanity as Tilaria's clothes hung themselves in the closet and her herbs, magnetic chalks, and focusing crystals returned to their shelf. The pendent was hung on the side of the vanity's mirror and it pendent tapped against the glass softly for a few seconds.

Tilaria's precious Nightblossom plant that she had gotten from Frigga returned to its perch on the edge of her desk as the pot reassembled itself. Its silver blossoms were closed, awaiting the fall of night to bloom. With that, all of the damage to her room had repaired itself.

The instant Loki released his hold on his magic he collapsed onto the floor. Thor tensed in shock and then scrambled to Loki's side. Loki was slowly pushing himself back to his feet, his entire body trembling with exhaustion.

Thor knelt and grabbed Loki's arm to help pull him to his feet. Helping Loki was something he had done uncountable times, but for the first time ever Loki jerked away from Thor's touch as if he was insulted and stumbled sideways. He grabbed Tilaria's vanity after he banged into it to keep from collapsing, hanging his head with his eyes hidden, breathing ragged.

It was obvious that Loki had over exhausted himself from his magic. That was nothing new. He also didn't want Thor to help him. Thor wasn't surprised by that either, but he was shocked by just how viciously Loki had recoiled from him.

His brother coughed harshly, and put a hand near his mouth. When he lowered his hand Thor saw blood on it. It didn't matter that Loki didn't want him near him, not when he was coughing up blood. Thor stepped forward warily as if on a minefield closer to Loki and held out a hand towards him.

He almost said brother before he caught himself, "bro-Loki?"

Carefully, he touched Loki's arm, worry overriding his common sense to give Loki some space. Loki slapped Thor's hand away with a hiss. The crack echoed in the otherwise silent wing and slowly faded away.

"I don't need the help of a traitorous Asgardian," Loki promised darkly.

"I'm not-" Thor tried to say.

"You brought me back to Asgard muzzled like some dog and then ran off to Midgard and abandoned me in the dungeon," Loki spat. "I think I have a right to what I say."

All right, maybe Thor did deserve what Loki said. He hadn't given it much thought at the time, but while the trip to Midgard had calmed him it had destroyed whatever trust Loki still had for his brother. The trip had been solely for Thor's benefit, and he would have been fine if he hadn't gone. Just like usual, he'd been so focused on himself that he'd forgotten about Loki when he needed Thor the most.

"Loki," Thor said softly, trying to hide his pain. "I want to help you."

 _I want to make up for what I've done to you…_

"And how did any of that _help me_?!" Loki demanded in a somewhat shrill voice.

With a small breath, Loki managed to calm himself slightly.

"So, high and mighty Æsir, since you want to _help me_ ," Loki spoke the words 'help me' in the most dubious tone. "Where are my weapons and ring?"

Thor hesitated in his response, but only for a moment. "There was so much magic in them that they had to be moved. They're in the Weapons Vault."

The Vault? Loki wasn't overwhelmingly surprised by Thor's answer, but he was far from thrilled. How was he supposed to break into the Weapon's Vault and get them back with basic weapons and such limited magic?

"The Ravens took your stuff, it's in the Aviary," Thor continued without having to be told. "They've got it hid so the Wolves won't get it, brother."

Thor stopped talking when he realized his slip of the tongue, and swallowed. It was such an old habit of his that it was hard to break, and the fact that he didn't want to break it wasn't making this easier. He had simply recognized the calculating look in Loki's eyes as he puzzled over how to get his weapons back as one his little brother had often had.

"That'll do," Loki warned him tartly.

I'm sorry, Thor tried to say. The words wouldn't reach his lips. He had said as much to Loki several times before, but found he couldn't say them now. Why couldn't he say it?

Loki raised a fist to his chest and Thor sensed his magic build up. He flung the hand outward towards his former brother, and Thor was knocked off his feet by a telekinetic force and slid clear out into the hallway, head slamming against the opposite wall of the hallway. Then Loki pulled the same hand close to his chest and Tilaria's doors closed and locked themselves as he teleported away.

Thor looked at the closed doors after Loki left and hung his head. "I'm sorry Loki."

* * *

 **How can Thor possibly make things up to Loki after everything that has happened? I suppose he'll just have to wait and see if there is a way to earn Loki's trust again.**


	6. Ambush

"Sir," Vir said in a cautionary voice as he stood in front of Odin. "Now might not be the best time for this decision. The Raven Blades just saved Asgard."

"I have already made my decision and I see no need to rethink it," Odin vowed. "They have had enough time as it is. I never wanted them to become a squad, but their valor in the first Celestial War left me little choice. They've openly sided with Loki and aided his escape from his execution. They are simply not fit for to be a part of Asgard's Star Guard."

"I understand your vehemence against Loki," Vir reasoned. "His actions this past year and at Thor's coronation are debatable to say the least, but we're currently at war. Loki will have exhausted himself in battle so that means his Ravens are now the best defense. You can't just disband them!"

"Can't Vir?" Odin challenged.

"It would not be wise," Vir corrected.

He looked over at his brother, but Tyr was doing a nice impression of a bump on a log and being just as helpful.

"There is enough trouble already without having to watch over the Ravens," Odin replied. "They will undoubtedly do everything they can to help Loki."

"And how is that bad?" Vir demanded. "Forget about his criminal record for a minute, Odin. He took on a Celestial mothership by himself, and won. Before the Celestials left, Loki said he would help us defeat them. I don't know if he was serious or not, but don't you think having that kind of power on our side would be helpful?"

Finally Tyr spoke, but he was not reinforcing his brother as Vir had thought he surely would. "The Blood Wolves are a powerful squadron as well. They will be able to pick up the slack."

Vir was taken aback by Try's comment for a moment. He was supporting Odin? Here he thought his brother was sane.

"The Blood Wolves were taken out by Loki while he was in restrainer cuffs," Vir retorted. "Loki has ensured his Ravens are trained to that degree. Your precious Blood Wolves might be a bunch of yes men, but they're a very poor substitute."

The siblings began to bristle at each other.

"Are you defending the son of Laufey?" Odin interrupted sharply, his patience for such actions as limited as it had been with Freyja.

"Yes, I do believe that's what I'm saying," Vir replied smartly. "During the first Celestial War Asgardians and Jötnar fought side by side. Laufey may have picked a losing fight with us when he invaded Midgard, but that does not make him poor king. Even if he had been, Loki is an individual. He makes his own choices and his choices were to stay and help."

"Loki is a war criminal tried and proven," Tyr shot back before Odin could interrupt. "He has made it clear that he is on no side but his own. Should he see a reason to switch sides to the Celestials then he will."

"Even after what the Celestials did to Tilaria?" Vir challenged.

Tyr's next comment stuttered and then faded away unspoken. He looked away with a tssk, caught.

"Allfather," Vir addressed Odin in a respectful voice. "I am not picking sides, and now is not the time to pick sides. We're in the middle of a war, and we need to stand united if we want any chance at all against the Celestials. I am raising a valid point, yet you refuse to acknowledge that it even exists. You lost your eye in the war against Laufey, but you are letting your emotions for Laufey transfer over to his son."

Odin had never heard it put quite like that, and he was stunned that the Commander of His Star Guard was acting _as_ impudent and rebellious _as_ Loki or one of his Raven Blades.

Vir shook his head tiredly. "Why did you take Loki from his father and Jötunnheim in the first place?"

Tyr had been about to snap at his sibling again, but quieted. That was the question wasn't it? He'd never heard the answer to that question before and he turned to Odin, suddenly curious.

Odin shook his head. "That has nothing to do with the question of the Raven Blades being disbanded."

"I think it has everything to do with it since Loki hand-picked and hand-trained every member of _his_ squadron," Vir retorted.

"My reason are my own," Odin parried, "and they are of no concern to you. Laufey abandoned Loki to die in the ruins of a temple because he was a runt. I took him. That is all you need to know."

Vir frowned. Odin's wording sent up a warning flag for him, and he remembered a fact that was otherwise unimportant.

"I thought Loki's mother was also a runt," Vir said cautiously. "Laufey loved Fárbauti despite her being small. Why would he abandon his son for the same reason?"

Odin's features blackened. "It is irrelevant, and the answer to that question died with the Jötunn race. My decision stands. The Raven Blades are disbanded, and since most are orphans and commoners they will be escorted off of palace grounds."

Vir knew something was wrong now. He had hit a point, and it had raised Odin's ire. It seemed that Freyja was right about Odin after all. As Odin stalked away Vir couldn't help but wonder and fear ever so slightly, what was he hiding?

"Vir," Tyr said quietly behind him.

Vir was surprised that Tyr hadn't left with the Allfather and turned to face his twin, half expecting Tyr to punch him for the impudence he had shown Odin. Tyr didn't though. He just stood there and looked sadly at his younger brother, and that frustrated Vir more than if he had gotten a black eye.

* * *

Loki watched the door to the Weapon's Vault. Although he had a rather impressive criminal record, he had never managed to break into Odin's trophy room before. It appeared that the Celestials had beaten him to that honor if the burn and blood marks scattered about the hallway and door were any indication.

Loki focused his magic to try and reach for his gear, but the enchantments around the vault prevented him from scanning within. Nonetheless, he was sure they were inside. If he could get to the magic that stored in that ring then his power would double. Because it was Loki's own energy that he had stored in it, it would also be a stable dose that wouldn't hurt his magic more.

Before he could plot further how to get inside, someone grabbed his jacket and yanked him back. Loki knew that making a sound would alert the already on-edge guards, so he just grabbed one of his stole blades and slashed at his attacker as he turned. His attacker saw the blow coming and caught it neatly on his bow, twisting it and knocking the blade from Loki's hand.

The identity of Loki's attacker caught him off guard. "Jeren?"

Jeren gave him one of his easy smiles and lowered his bow. It was Jeren in civilian clothes no less, a sight Loki was not used to. He motioned Loki back and Loki warily recalled he blade to his hand and followed him. Once they were far enough away from the guards to speak without alerting them, they did so.

"Ya out of practice," Jeren accused instantly.

Loki knew he wasn't in a position to defend himself. Jeren had managed not only to approach him unnoticed, but grab him. If he had meant Loki harm then Loki would have been in trouble.

"What are you doing?" Loki whispered sharply.

"I knew yous'd come to fetch your gear." Jeren slung his bow back over his shoulder with his quiver and rustled around in his satchel. "So I brung a present."

With infinite care he took out a glass sphere, small enough he could almost close his hand around it. Inside it was a glowing red mist that swirled around as if alive.

"A Celestial stunner?" Loki whispered.

"Took it off one of their alien allies." Jeren gently shifted it to Loki's cupped hands.

The red mist within this one marked that it was a non-lethal stunner that released a mist similar to pepper spray.

Loki stared at the swirling sparkling mist. "Why help me?"

"I was the one suggested keepin your gear in the vault for starters," Jeren shrugged helplessly. "For another, I figure this way, you use that an there's a chance ya won't kill the guards."

Loki still didn't understand. "Odin will brand you a traitor just like he did Angborn."

He thought about seeing Angborn's body.

"I'm not the Captain of the Raven Blades no more," Jeren said bluntly. "Tis why I'm not in uniform. Odin's disbanded us."

Loki knew he shouldn't be surprised but he was. Odin had been against making such a ragtag band of misfits a squad, but they had reinforced Tilaria in rescuing him from the Celestials flagship. After a victory like that in the First Celestial War, Odin had no choice. Procedure and Raven Blades were not be used in the same sentence and Odin had only ever tolerated them.

"We still get th mos' kills in this last battle even, and he's still disbandin' us," Jeren slurred with a quiet growl. "Consider this somethin to even the odds, and I sure's don't care if Odin gets mad at me."

Loki looked down at the stunner. He sent a careful pulse of magic to it and the red mist spiked to a brilliant white. Quickly he shushed his magic. The stunner's power faded back to red. It worked then, that was a start.

Jeren flashed Loki an honest smile when he looked up at the former Raven Blade. "G'luck my prince."

Loki nodded absently and he watched Jeren walk away with a light step. Odin would tag the death penalty onto him just as quickly as he did to Angborn if he was found out. He hoped Jeren knew what he was doing.

Stunner in hand, the fallen prince retraced his steps to his previous position. Something troubled him as he magically inspected the door. They weren't locked. The Weapons Vault contained the most powerful artifacts in the Nine Realms, so why wouldn't they locked? A sneaking suspicion took root in his mind.

He tightened his grip on the stunner just enough so the glass cracked. Once more, its red color turned to white as it charged to detonation. One, two, three… Loki threw it low to the ground, nudging its trajectory with his magic.

Not again, one of the Guard thought an instant before Loki tightened his hold on the magic. The stunner detonated. Both of the guards coughed and dropped their weapons as they stumbled back. Their eyes stung and the mist absorbed through their skin to dull their nerves.

Loki was running towards the door the instant it exploded. The guards couldn't stop him as he ran straight at the door and kicked it as he jumped. The damaged latch slipped and the doors slammed open. Once inside, Loki slid to the stop at the top of the staircase and stared in shock at the sight before him.

The Weapons Vault of Asgard contained the most powerful weapons of both Asgard and the other Realms. Every pedestal had once been full. Now, it was empty. Loki forgot about the guards as he walked down the steps.

They had taken everything, the Casket of Ancient Winters, even his Tesseract. Ichaival, the magic bow of the black cell inmate Ullr, was missing from its rack. Once the arrow was released it always found and killed its target no matter where they hid or what protections they had. It was also bonded to Ullr like Mjolnir was to Thor, so Ullr was the only one who could use it.

The cursed blade Dainsleif was also not locked down in its sword rack. Once that sword was drawn it had to kill a man before it could be returned to the sheath. A blow from this magical sword never failed to kill, or cause a wound that never heals. The injuries inflicted by a blade enchanted with a blood curse made the target's injury heal as slowly as a human – even if they were Asgardian. Blade Blood Curses were said to have been created after studying that sword.

Annalayana was also missing from its pedestal. It was a unique blade, and it had a Wraith of the same name sealed inside of it. Anna had formed a strong bond with Freyr, and she consented to only let him wield her. If anyone else tried, she'd kill them. Then Freyr had become jealous of his sister Freyja's magic, and tried to take it and her life by force. The action landed him in a black cell after, but he would now be free and cross to find that Anna was missing.

There were dozens of more artifacts that should be here. Some were other superweapons taken from criminals like the sword Laevateinn, a sword Loki had made in Niflheim that could match Excalibur. Others were simple wonders, like the magic ship Skidbladnir that could sail over land and air as well as the sea and could be folded up to put in a pocket.

The barriers around the Infinity Gauntlet alone had been strong enough to withstand the attack and it stood as a lonely sentinel for the empty room. Loki had been raised on Asgard, and he had grown up believing that certain things were simply impenetrable. The Weapons Vault was one of those things.

He walked down the steps and felt his gaze drawn to where the Casket had once rested. There was where he found the truth and finally understood why Odin hated him. With some effort, he looked away from that particular pedestal, and followed his magic to his weapons. His two main weapons were a pair of mismatched battle daggers. Among those daggers were his four-point throwing blades. Though, his magic ring – his primary target sat on a different pedestal. Blades first he decided.

One of his daggers was a dirk, long and straight with a pure silver-white blade and sapphires in the hilt and handguard. The handguard was surprisingly plain, and consisted of only a pair of crossed crescents. It was actually an illegal sword-breaker, and if Loki caught an enemy's sword between the crescents he could snap it. Thor had amazed Loki when he had managed to forge the delicate weapon and had turned it over to Frigga so she could enchant it. Its name was Íss, which that meant ice in the Asgardian language. There was a faint pattern of snowflakes on the metal and the sapphires were frosted over.

Íss was a support dagger and one Loki wielded in his off hand. His true weapon was a sixteen-inch Suete knife with a slight and wicked curved. The metal was black with a slight crimson ripple from the blood magic Tilaria had infused it with when she had made it. Continuing with his raven theme the handguards were a pair of raven wings, mostly horizontal with a slight upward curve. Scattered about each of the delicately carved feathers of blood and shadow were pinpricks of emerald and one larger jewel was set above the copper rings in the hilt that helped his grip. In honor of Tilaria making it and the Dark Elves love of the stars, he had named it Dresidar. It didn't have an exact translation, but it meant roughly Wing Star.

Seeing the blades made by his family made Loki's chest tighten, but he brushed the irrelevant feeling away and raised his hands over the ward around them in preparation to break it. The trouble with freeing his gear was the protections in the Vault. Once you crossed the threshold into it, all magic ended. Any active magic shut off and no more magic could be used. He couldn't teleport away until he was outside again or even use a senseline.

Loki let his hands hover just above the barriers and tendrils of golden light glowed in warning of his proximity. Of course, just because Loki couldn't use any of his magic didn't mean he couldn't use any of the Vault's. He nudged his weapons awake, and tugged their magic using the barriers around them as a medium. It was a clever trick that created a loop of ever-growing strength as he turned the barrier on itself.

He stepped back as the barrier glowed white and shattered. Loki smiled and snatched his blades off the pedestal, placing Dresidar in its scabbard on his right thigh and Íss on his left.

Next were his throwing blades. They looked like a four-point throwing star only one of its points was as long as a normal throwing blade. When Loki used them, he threw them more like needles instead of most throwing blades.

His throwing blades he picked up next and put each one on its assigned loop on his waist. Part of his perfectionism was his OCD that all mages had, but part of it was the enchantments on the blades. Two minutes after Loki threw a blade it was charmed to rematerialize in its assigned holster. If there was another throwing blade in the wrong place in its way, it couldn't do that.

He felt much more comfortable rearmed. Even better, because of the way he had dropped the protections, no alarms had sounded. Armed again, he turned to his ring.

The ring was on its own pedestal and was hovering in midair, something that made Loki glare at it in an unamused manner. If the magic of the barriers around it was so great that it made the ring hover it would not be easy to break. Loki tried to repeat the trick to turn the ward in on itself, but his ring's power was intertwined with the barriers so it couldn't work.

Loki drew Dresidar and clenched it in one hand in a reverse grip above the ward, knowing that this would sound the alarm. Due to the Dökkálfr magic the blade had been made with, Loki could use blood magic with it as the medium. To give it fresh blood to work with, he slashed the palm of his free hand and watched as the blade absorbed it. The blade's black metal turned red as tendrils of his blood ran up the metal like a set of veins, energizing it. Again he raised it above the ward, and this time he brought the dagger down on the protective ward. When the dagger hit the ward, the ward shattered.

Fragments of the barrier flew up past his face and instantly the alarm could be heard. It was officially time for Loki to go, and he tried to grab his ring out of midair with his free hand. His eyes widened when his hand went right through the illusion of the ring, and he hissed as the illusion vanished. The ring wasn't here at all. He'd been tricked.

Loki spun around as Star Guard appeared around the edges of the vault and drew his second dagger as he fell into a fighting stance. Odin had lowered the barriers in the vault just enough to hide troops within, but not enough that Loki's magic was free enough to detect the intruders. In fact, it was still caged. Thor had led him into a trap!

Loki would pay that traitor back for this, but right now he needed to get outside of the vault so he could use his magic and vanish. Most of the Star Guard present were Blood Wolves, but there were others present. The total number of soldiers seemed to be around two squads, and the high number amused Loki. Odin must want him apprehended badly if he was willing to divert this many troops the day after a battle.

"Anyone care to go first?" Loki called out as he stepped away from the pedestal so he would have room to maneuver.

The troops present knew that was their orders, but were wary to engage Loki. Loki believed that it was because they had seen the slaughter he had left in his wake after escaping his execution, and he wasn't wrong since that was on their minds. Some were actually thinking that Loki had won the battle for Asgard and were less then excited about recapturing him so Odin could kill him. Eventually it was a Blood Wolf who broke away from the line and challenged him.

Loki calmly hooked his opponent's sword between the crescents of Íss and twisted it to one side as he slashed open the Wolves throat with his other blade. He subtly shifted his weight, and the Blood Wolf was thrown backwards. His body slammed into the pedestal where the false ring had been, and he landed in a crumbled heap.

"Anyone else?" Loki asked as he shook the blood from his dagger.

His smile was more just baring his fangs in victory. Finally, grudgingly, another Wolf jumped at him, backed by some of the others. Loki shifted Dresider to his right hand, drew two of his throwing blades from his belt and threw them without needing to waste a moment taking aim. His instincts were still sharp, and both blades got the guards in the neck. He knew that the injuries weren't lethal for an Asgardian as they would be for a human, but right now, Loki just wanted to clear the area so he could leave.

Rather than wait for his other opponents to get close, Loki took the offensive. Loki cut a messy swath through the guards with his blades, glad to have his real weapons back. His kill total was not as high as he would have normally gotten, but he was too busy trying to expand his sense and find his ring to pay enough attention to use killing moves. After a two and a half minutes Loki was the only thing standing in the Weapons Vault. He sighed in irritation and sheathed his blades.

"Rats, no ring." Loki muttered and crossed his arms over his chest. "Where is it?"

He shook his head with a tssk as he turned on his heel and walked calmly out of the Vault, blood dripping from his clothes, although none of it his. Once he passed its threshold into the hallway, he used his magic and ghosted out of sight. Heimdall watched as the ghosting charm took hold and Loki vanished from sight, already reaching out to contact Odin and tell him the ambush hadn't worked.

* * *

Vir glared at the wood grain of the table as Odin listened to the report about his failed trap. Loki had escaped. Eight guards had been killed by him and the rest were in the Infirmary.

"I warned you about that trap." Vir sighed. "If anything, Loki's proven that the year he spent with the Chitauri has made him stronger. A few squads of guards are no match for him, magic or no magic."

Tyr muttered something about overpowered as Odin responded to Vir and said, "Which is why his ring was not placed with his blades."

"Where is it by the way?" Vir asked.

"Safe," Odin replied sharply.

He didn't know if Loki was masquerading as someone else – he had the skill level to be almost anyone – and so Odin didn't know who to trust. Vir didn't press the matter although he wanted assurances that the ring really was safe. He feared what might happen if one of the Black Cell prisoners, especially a mage, retrieved the ring.

Loki's ring was enchanted with Dragon's Flame, a magical substance dragons could produce besides the normal burst of fire. Excalibur and that ring were the only known artifacts to have Dragon's Flame empowering them as Loki was one of the only realmers to have earned the trust of the dragons. It was a substance more coveted then Unicorn blood, and despite the ring's small size there was an amount of magic stored inside it that hadyet to be measured successfully. Letting anyone near it was dangerous.

Odin was well aware of the dangers involved with someone apprehending Loki's dragon ring, which was why the ring was hidden on his person where Gungnir would cloak its presence. Since Loki was still stealing lifeforce to stay alive his seidr had to be very low and unstable. If Loki got his ring and the energy stored within it then he would be able to stabilize his lifeforce. Fel, with the magic in the ring any mage would have access to a level of power on par to that of Gungnir's, an artifact whose power was only a few steps behind the Infinity Stones.

"Come," Odin told the brothers as he stood. "The council meeting is about to start."

* * *

 **One thing about Odin that really struck me was during the second Thor movie. Thor asks his father what is the difference between him and Malekith (the villain of the movie), and Odin says that the only difference is that he will win. That is the Odin i am basing this on, and he is getting too old and too paranoid. If the Odin from the Marvelverse ever met the " _real_ " Odin from Norse mythology, Marvel-Odin would get thrashed. In Norse mythology, Odin was a war-god who didn't care in the slightest for justice law or peace. He loved war and starting fights - something he had in common with Thor. My Odin is somewhere between the two of them.**

 **(Hmm, council meeting, council meeting, isn't something supposed to happen during the meeting? Oh yeah, Tilaria's backup plan with the explosives that they have no idea about. Can anyone say gulp?)**


	7. What Happens in War

Thor lay on the floor of his room, one of his red blankets pulled over him and a bundled jacket functioning as a pillow. There wasn't a new bed in his room yet, and Thor hadn't been able to do much more then get rid of the old bedframe and clear a spot so he could sleep. There were others who needed walls shored up and roofs patched – replacing a bed in the palace wasn't very high on anyone's priority list, and Thor didn't mind. The civilians needed the help far more than he did right now.

He had slept on the forest floor, both in a sleeping roll or just on the grass, so this wasn't the most uncomfortable bed. What made him uncomfortable was the dream – the nightmare he was trapped in as he slept. His breathing was light and shallow, and fear and pain in his nightmare made Thor's features cringed as he rolled over on the floor.

He was replaying the images of the battle in his dreams. Unlike when he was a child, the sight of blood and bodies didn't make him sick. Thor had seen it too many for it to make him feel ill, a not entirely pleasant thought, but it was the identity of these bodies that made it such a vicious nightmare. It was his mother and his friends that were dead, killed by Celestial disruptors and lightswords.

Trapped in the nightmare, for you were always trapped in nightmares, Thor turned away from them with his heart in his throat to try and find a way through the fog that encompassed his view. Fingers of it seemed to grab at him and cling to his clothes as he wandered around, trying to find a familiar landmark or a way to jolt himself awake. Falling off a cliff would bring him out of his nightmare and wake him up, but this land was smooth as the floor he slept on.

Thor left the bodies behind him, walking unsteadily from illness despite knowing this was just a nightmare and everyone he had seen dead were still alive. Then he heard a hiss of a blade being drawn from a scabbard and a snap-crack of a lightsword being activated. The sound of the Celestial weapon made the blood drain from Thor's face and he ran towards the noise to see the fight. He wouldn't watch someone else be killed, even in a nightmare, if he could help it. A thought to summon Mjölnir drifted across Thor's mind, but this was a nightmare, and nightmares did not follow your whims like dreams did.

A layer of fog had settled on the ground, obscuring Thor's feet as he ran towards the sound. He could hear the sound of combat as the lightsword and blade hit each other. There was no sound of spells, so Thor wasn't sure who was fighting.

He slid to a stop with an annoyed hiss, unable to pinpoint which direction the combat was coming from as the sounds echoed around the area. Despite being prepared for it, Thor still flinched when he heard a moist, choking gasp as one of the fighters gasped for their dying breath. Something hit the ground, and he heard the lightsword deactivate back into the hilt.

Thor knew where that sound came from, and he ran towards it. The fog parted as he approached and Thor slid to a stop at the sight before him. It was Loki. He was standing over Tilaria's body as a pool of blood slowly started to spread from the killing blow Loki had dealt to her. Her head was turned away so Thor blissfully couldn't see her face.

"L-Loki," Thor stuttered, unable to look away from Loki, "brother… what did you do?"

In his nightmare, Loki laughed. It was the same laugh Thor had heard during the Battle of New York.

"You're little brother died a long time ago," Loki promised Thor with a smile too twisted to be called a smile. "He died centuries ago, although you didn't realize it until last year, he died long before he fought you for Asgard's throne. You were just too stupid to see it."

Blood was dripping from Loki's fingers to the ground steadily, and Thor swallowed, forcing himself to stand strong.

"I know," Thor told Loki. "I was a selfish fool, and I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Loki asked in amusement and tilted his head to one side. "What good does that word do me?"

The blood hissed as it touched the ground, and Thor gave a start as it rose off the ground and formed a cloud. It was not blood anymore, but a dark red-black viscous liquid that pulsed with power as if it had its own heartbeat. Loki raised his hand to Thor's chest and the strange substance raised with it. Loki smiled, and the substance struck.

Thor jerked awake at last with a gasp, and it was fortunate he was on the floor because he surely would have rolled out of his bed otherwise. He was sitting up, breathing rapid and quickly as is heartbeat very slowly began to drop back to normal levels. Sweat had plastered his blonde bangs to his forehead, and he felt suffocatingly hot. After swallowing dryly a few times he threw the blanket off of himself.

Mjölnir was sitting obediently next to his blanket despite having been left on the other side of Thor's room, having been summoned by Thor's distress. Thor was glad that he had left Mjölnir in his room because thanks to that there were no holes in the wall. His doors were still hanging open, gapingly showing the hallway.

Limbs trembling, Thor scrambled to his feet and unsteadily looped towards a jug of water, bowl, and rag he had set on the floor. He would normally go to the bathroom, but it had suffered as badly as his room and he had no running water. With effort he poured some of the water into the bowl and scooped it up with his hands. He splashed the water on his face and let the drops run down his chin and drip to the floors and his pants.

The wooden floor was chipped and broken in places, and warmed than it should be as the temperature regulation spells around the palace had failed. He looked into the water in the bowl, able to see his reflection. Noon bright sunlight was pouring through his glass-planed French doors, every plane broken and carved out and the doors hanging too off their hinges to close. Broken glass still littered the doorway and floor.

Thor was surprised, not by his nightmare so much as the fact he had apologized to Loki. He had tried say he was sorry to Loki for failing him as his brother already, but had yet to get the words past his lips. Loki had saved him with his veins of ice, and Thor couldn't even take responsibility for his own failure. The only time he could say it was when he was in a nightmare, and that meant nothing to Loki. Loki would probably react the same way as the illusion in the nightmare had, saying the words were useless and laughing at his naïveness.

Thor shuddered at the thought of the red blood-like substance that had struck him. He knew it wasn't blood, he just knew it wasn't. What was it though? Even just seeing it had scraped Thor's nerves raw, and he knew it had seen it somewhere before, but where?

Someone knocked on one of Thor's battered door, and Thor gave a start. His hands had been resting near the bowl of water and he almost upended the bowl. Water splashed over the rim, but Thor managed to save the bowl from flipping. With the filtration spells shattered, water had suddenly become scarce. He couldn't afford to waste it.

Thor turned without standing, and saw Azura standing in the doorway hesitantly. She had something in her arms, but wasn't entering. He gave her a weak smile and stood, waving her over. Azura approached, stepping around debris.

"Azura," Thor greeted her.

"Prince," Azura returned the greeting and looked past Thor to his makeshift bed. "You've been sleeping all day."

"I was working long into the night trying to find civilians in the debris," Thor explained. "No one woke me up, so evidently they didn't need me very badly. What do you have?"

"Combat rations," Azura told him and held out her hand. "The kitchens and food storerooms were as ransacked as the rest of the palace, and since we don't have a steady supply of water anymore we can't cook. The Celestials didn't take these."

"Field rations," Thor said and scrunched up his nose as he looked at the package wrapped in sealed wax paper. "I've had these before. They are one of the few things completely without taste."

"Maybe," Azura agreed, "but because they're time released they give you all the nutrients you need for three days. We don't have a steady supply of food or water, so you should be grateful you have this."

"I am," Thor admitted and tore open the sleeve, his words hallow.

He pulled out a flat circular piece of protein, colored like cream. It fit in the palm of his hand and was only about half an inch thick.

"Did you have something to do other than give me… this?" Thor wasn't quite sure how to address the meal he had.

Azura gave him an amused look at his disgust, her eyes still a little red and puffy as if she had been crying recently. "The council meeting's going to start in an hour. Your father expects you there since you've been released from the healers."

"Right," Thor said slowly, having forgotten about the council meeting.

Azura could tell Thor had forgotten, and she was a little relieved by it. Thor always forgot stuff like this. It was strangely comforting to see at least one thing was still the same as it had been before. She curtsied to him, and left as Thor nibbled on the corner of the ration. There was absolutely no taste to it, making it hard to swallow down. He used most of the water he had left to eat it, and then quickly looked around his clothing to find some that wasn't too badly damaged.

Eventually, Thor ended up wearing the same tunic he had taken off before he had gone to bed. He laced up his boots, wishing that he had a fresh change of clothes. This set was still blood-stained from the battle, and torn at the elbows, smeared with dirt and ash. A bath also sounded like a blessing, but there was no running water. It was remarkable how many things you took advantage, and you wouldn't even know it until they were gone. Thor had never lived in conditions where running water, fresh food, a hot bath, and a change of clothing had ever been an issue. He didn't like this situation.

With a sigh, he picked up Mjölnir and put it on his belt. Then he slipped between his broken doors into the hallway to head to the council hall. It would take some time to walk there.

He wasn't sure who all would be there, but he assumed it would be the normal members: Odin, General Tyr, Commander Vir, and a few captains that could attend. A lot of people who would normally be there, Eir or Fey or one of the healers, and Freyja to represent the mages, would probably be too busy to attend.

Dust coated the hallway in a thin layer, crunching almost silently under his boots. There were stains of blood flung across the wall in an arc of dots. The once beautifully glowing gold palace was dull and dark. The light crystals that normally illuminated the interior hallways had shut down with the collapse of the magical network that kept them illuminated, the water running, and the temperature comfortable. It became unusually dark without a window or crystals to illuminate the hallway, and Thor wrapped his fingers around the ring Loki had given to him within his pants pocket. The night vision charm sharpened his sight and the shadow-clogged hallway became bright in shades of green and white, allowing him to walk unhindered.

Thor realized for the first time as he walked down the stairs to head to the lower floor that Loki wouldn't be there. Loki had always attended the council meetings, even when Thor couldn't' be bothered. Usually he did so as a prince, and Thor would have him fill him in later when he got back from adventuring with his friends. Sometimes Loki would attend in Freyja's place to represent Asgard's mages, sitting at the table only a chair away from Odin. For the first time since they had been old enough to attend council meetings, Loki would not be there.

He turned a corner to reach the hall, and was blinded by light as his eyes, made hypersensitive by the charm, were overloaded. Stars flashed in his sight as Thor stumbled backwards with a curse. He stood around the corner and released the night vision charm as he shook his head. The darkness in the hallway was accented by light from around the corner, and Thor peered around the corner.

Someone had lit torches along the hallway to provide brightness against the dark and Thor had been blinded by their light. Loki had warned him not to use the charm in a brightly-lit area, Thor remembered. Once the dancing dots of white light in his vision vanished, Thor approached the council hall.

The torches, to Thor's surprise, were normal fire lit by flint. They weren't even magical, and the heat and smoke they gave off felt unusual to him. It wasn't even a magical flame. He approached the doors again, not blinded this time by the torches' orange-yellow flames.

He hesitated for a moment by the doorway, a part of him wondering if Loki would show up because he hated missing meetings. Loki wanted to know everything that was going on, and he usually did. Yet there was no sign of him, and the realistic part of Thor was not surprised. Loki might have trusted Angborn, but he didn't trust Thor anymore. That much had been made clear.

He touched the front of his crimson sleeveless tunic where the veins of ice that Loki had used to save him still existed, torn. Then he took a breath, and forced himself to enter. Loki would either show up or he wouldn't. Even if he did, Thor doubted Loki would address him.

* * *

 **Are you surprised by Asgard's sudden disgrace? In all the fanfics I've read our heroes go through trials, but nothing ever happens to Asgard - only other realms. That doesn't make sense to me. Thor's actually in a pretty good spot compared to most of the other Asgardians. He is sleeping in a secure location where there is no crime, as there will be once Asgardians start fighting over supplies, and the palace doesn't run the risk of collapsing on his head like other buildings might.**

 **Two important things to say about this story:**

 **One, I am putting this on the back burner a little more then my other stories. Have no fear, I do not abandon stories halfway through. It's just not my primary update. My primary update is the stories of Loki as a child - _Pre-Thor,_ everything that leads to the first Thor movie, and _Pre-Tilaria,_ which is before Tilaria was introduced when Loki is ten. I invite you to read those in between these updates if you're not already doing so.**

 **Second, I get the feeling people are scared this is going to become a LokixOC pairing. Don't worry, those usually annoy me to. I have no intentions of pairing Loki off with Tilaria and twisting the storyline by changing the story to some sappy romantic (especially since I'm not good at writing romantic). Please don't drop my story because you're worried about it. Any chance of the pairing pretty much vanished when Tilaria got kidnapped 30 years ago. They've both changed too much, and although there is a kinship between them because they grew up together, the romantic spark has faded.**


	8. The Meeting

Thor was the last one to enter the council hall. He hung about the entrance for a time hesitantly, waiting to see if Loki would show himself. He did not, and Thor was not surprised by that fact. Loki's trust in Thor had been lost long ago.

He still trusted Angborn, Thor reflected as he finally walked in. Loki trusted him as if none of the past year had happened. Then again, Angborn hadn't had to defeat Loki in battle and bring him back to Asgard muzzled and chained.

The doors closed behind him. Thor was surprised that his late arrival had gone unnoticed. Normally Odin would at least glare at him, but he wasn't even looking in Thor's direction. Tyr and Vir seemed to be trying to glare daggers at each other and several of the Captains looked to be doing the same as if there was an invisible divide.

Jaro was among the gathered Star Guard. There wasn't even one of the Raven Blades senior officers here and again, Thor was surprised. Thor looked at Fandral curiously as he stepped up beside him, but his friend merely shrugged.

"Report," Odin ordered before Thor could ask what he was missing.

Vir began, jumping ahead of his brother. "There were two squads of enemies on the ground. One was the Celestials that attacked my Star Guard. The other was a group of their alien allies who ransacked the palace looking for their staff. I believe Loki hid it well enough that they were unsuccessful. That did not cease them from tearing apart every room in the palace searching."

"Among that destruction was the Weapons Vault," Tyr added somberly. "Everything but the Infinity Gauntlet was taken."

Everyone's breath stopped. Thor tensed with eyes wide. He hadn't just heard that. His heart sank when he realized that he had. That was as catastrophic as the dungeon being emptied!

 _*A clever move on the Celestials part*_ A voice whispered inside Thor's mind.

Thor nearly jumped out of his boots when he heard that. Luckily everyone was too lost in their own thoughts to pay much mind to him. Huh? Was that who he thought it was?

 _*Loki?*_ Thor thought back carefully.

The voice in his mind replied. _*You do realize that the Celestials can trade the relics Asgard stole back to their respective races in exchange for their pledge of neutrality. Asgard won't be able to turn to the other realms for help like we did in our last war, which means no Alliance.*_

Thor shook his head slightly. That _was_ Loki speaking telepathically to him. If Loki was doing that, did that mean he trusted him again? Thor had let himself get shot with the Celestial disruptor in Loki's place, and that _had_ to count for _something_.

 _*Loki, where are you?*_ Then Thor realized what Loki had said, _*hold, what do you mean about the relics?*_

Thor could almost hear Loki roll his eyes. * _Asgard has been hoarding all of the artifacts of the other realms in the Weapons Vault*_ Loki explained. He knew already this would be one of those things that he would have to spell out. _*By doing so, that has weakened all of the other realms.*_

 _*You trust the Dæmon to behave themselves?*_ Thor asked tartly.

 _*I wouldn't know,*_ Loki replied in the same tone. _*I've never see their realm when it's not in ruins.*_

 _*You're exaggerating*_ Thor muttered.

 _*Am I?*_ Loki challenged brazenly. _*If Asgard would at least protect the Realms that it weakens like it's supposed to then Muspelheim would not be in ruins. Surtr might be able to do something more than watch as his Realm tears itself apart thanks to all the rebel factions vying for a crown that is clearly his. Asgard has never stepped in to help keep the peace because it is not directly threatened by the Dæmon Insurgents so it's not their problem.*_

 _*That is not true!*_ Thor shouted back.

 _*You needn't shout*_ Loki scolded in a grumbly tone, _*all you'll do is give me a headache. Are you sure it's not true? Muspelheim lies in ruins not because of Surtus's incompetence, but because Asgard has rendered it helpless and then left it to infight. After all, the Dæmon Insurgents only weaken Muspelheim and that makes it easier for Asgard to control it. Why would Asgard ever want to stop that?*_

Thor sighed instead of arguing. He had heard this argument from Loki before, but the threat of the Celestials put a new light on the friction between Asgard and its protectorates. Because Tilaria, a Dökkálfr, was friends with Surtr Thor had been to Muspelheim before. It was not in as good of shape as Asgard because of the Insurgents, something that would make it hard for the Dæmons to resist the offer Loki was talking about.

 _*Surtr doesn't want his realm in poverty*_ Loki continued, able to tell where Thor's train of thought was going. * _Not only can Surtr reunite his realm under his rule, he can sit back and watch as Asgard gets a taste of its own medicine.*_

Thor wanted to break the conversation off. He heard Loki's laugh rake across his mind like claws of ice. It was the same laugh he heard at New York.

 _*Scared of the truth, son of Odin?*_ Loki taunted. _*Muspelheim's condition is hardly unique. After all, a weak realm is easier to subjugate.*_

 _*Be silent*_ Thor ordered Loki.

Loki unsurprisingly, did not be silent. _*_ _Thanks to Asgard's "protection," one realm is gone entirely. Svartalfheim is dead. Tilaria was-is the last Dark Elf! And you think the other realms won't turn against you?*_

Thor noticed how Loki said "you" as if he was independent to Asgard. No, what Thor had done earlier during the Celestial's first assault had had no effect on Loki's temperament.

 _*The Dökkálfr were going to unleash the Aether and turn the realms into dark matter,*_ Thor reminded Loki as if he had forgotten. _*Asgard had to do something.*_

 _*Do you know why Malekith unleashed the Aether, dear brother?*_ Loki taunted, clearly enjoying the pain he was putting Thor through. _*The Ljósálfr crippled the Svarta's lifeforce. The planet and everything on it were dying and turning to dust. Dökkálfr are remarkably compatible with the Aether and dark matter, so they were the ones who had custody of the Infinity Stone. It was only after Asgard decided not to help and to let the realm die that Prince Malekith decided to use it. He thought that it was either use it to turn the realms into dark matter to rejuvenate his realm, or watch it slowly turn to dust.*_

 _*Asgard is not to blame for the Dark Elves extinction,*_ Thor snapped, beating Loki to the accusation. _*We retrieved and hid the Aether, but we did not destroy the race. That was Malekith.*_

 _*Here's an interesting question then Thor,*_ Loki chimed. _*According to our stories, after the Aether had been taken and it was clear Malekith would lose he ordered his ships to drop onto Svarta's surface and destroy Asgard's army. That action killed the civilian Dark Elves on the planet and wiped out any trace of life on it. Do you think Malekith wanted to kill his family and his race? You think he was the reason that his ships fell from the sky?*_

 _*You cannot be accusing Asgard of that,*_ Thor exclaimed.

 _*It is an interesting question*_ Loki shrugged telepathically. _* Tilaria scavenged the graveyard of those ships that fell and every one of their computers has the same virus in it. That virus is what forced them to crash, but it does not look like a Dark Elf virus. Malekith did not make that virus, so who did?*_

Thor swallowed, but did not answer. Suddenly he remembered his nightmare. The blood at the end that had come alive and attacked him… That wasn't blood. That was the Aether. What did the Aether have to do with now?

Loki, Thor thought, intending to tell Loki about his dream with the Aether. There was no reply. Thor realized with some annoyance that Loki had closed the telepathic link. Since Thor was no mage, he couldn't reopen the link.

Thor knew that Loki kept secrets. He had never pried into what Loki knew before, but now he was concerned. Malekith and his ship, _Nemesis_ , had escaped Svarta and vanished after the destruction of his home and race. Did Loki know something? Was it mere coincidence that Thor had a dream about the Aether at the same time Loki mentioned Malekith?

One of the beauties of telepathy was its speed. Thoughts were transferred from one person to another with the speed of a neuron firing. The conversation Thor and Loki had just had would have taken many minutes to say out loud, but because it was done telepathically, less than a minute had passed in real time.

"The Treasury to?" Odin said sharply.

Thor realized that he had been thinking so hard about the Dökkálfr he had missed the rest of Tyr's report. Any thought of Malekith vanished from his mind when what Odin had said clicked. The Treasury? Tyr couldn't mean…

"The Celestial's allies took coin as well as other objects of value," Tyr tightened a hand. "Some of it has been dispersed among the Marauders I am sure."

 _*Well*_ Loki said tartly, his voice back in Thor's mind. _*It seems Asgard won't be able to bribe the other realms to help either. Now you have to catch all of those bad guys all over again on your own *_

 _*What about you?*_ Thor asked. _*Won't you help?*_

Loki laughed.

Thor felt the link vanish again before he could respond. With it went any possibility to push about the issue of Malekith. Where was Loki? Typically, a telepath story needed a line of sight, so he was probably around here.

Vir took over the report. "7% of our total forces were killed in the initial attack. There are still bodies left to find though so that percent could be higher. Fey is taking care of more than twice that number in her infirmary. We have yet to get a count on civilian casualties."

There were that many dead from the initial strike? He felt the numbers like a punch to the gut, and dropped his head. Loki didn't respond to that figure, not even a scything insult, and Thor wondered why.

Slowly, he raised his head and looked at the other people present. One of them was likely Loki, but who? All of them looked equally shocked and disquieted, so it was hard to tell which one was Loki. Was Loki one of the captains? He could see Loki switching places with Jaro, an enemy, just for the irony.

 _*Don't be insulting*_ Loki scolded, startling Thor.

Fandral noticed Thor's reaction this time, but after a quizzical look, let it slide. It was probably a reaction to the news, news that also distressed him. Despite feeling physically ill, he didn't feel anger. Maybe he should, but he just couldn't right now.

"There are still the prisoners to discuss," Jaro pointed out as Thor looked through the small crowd again.

Vir's gaze turned to the surface of the table and stayed there as he spoke. "The Marauders have not wished to surrender, and we believe a third are dead. Other criminals with more minor charges have faded away and given the circumstances, we have not pursued them. Unfortunately, all of the black cell prisoners are gone as well, and none of them are accounted for. We believe that some have already left Asgard."

"You believe?" Odin demanded.

Vir almost cringed. "With the mages busy, we do not have the resources we usually do in tracking and apprehending escapees."

"Not that," Odin corrected. "What were you saying about the Marauders?"

Now Vir did cringe. "So many Marauders were captured at once that we did not have a full count."

Odin fixed him with his one-eyed glare, the eye narrowed in a dangerous manner. "You don't _know_ how many Marauders are loose on Asgard?"

 _*It's almost as if the Marauders let themselves be captured*_ Loki remarked to Thor with a chuckle, obviously understanding some sort of plot that eluded Thor.

A feeling of dread crept into Thor's mind, and he repeated Loki's words to the council. "It's almost like the Marauders let us capture them."

Fandral stiffened and glanced at Thor, eyes wide from concern. "I thought some of the battles with them were a little too easy. I wasn't just imagining it?"  
Thor didn't know, but he suspected Loki did.

"Perhaps the Marauders knew they'd soon be freed," Tyr pointed out.

"An alliance between the Marauders and the Celestials?" One of the other captains offered.

That silenced everyone, and Thor could almost feel Loki's laughter despite their thoughts being separate. Loki had already figured that out.

"I agree with Thor," Vir reluctantly added. "This raises another possibility though. If one criminal organization is allied with the Celestials, then maybe others are. The Evening Star maybe or the Dæmon insurgents."

"There aren't really any insurgents left," Tyr responded while Odin listened. "After Tilaria taught Surtr's people how to build and pilot Dökkálfr fighter craft during the First Celestial War, he used them to wipe out the opposition."

 _*Or HYDRA,*_ Loki mused, a musing that was not to himself since Thor could hear it.

Thor was confused by Loki's comment. The only hydra he knew was the Lernaean Hydra, a gigantic multi-headed aquatic dragon that lived only on Earth. They were widely considered to be myths due to their scarcity, a good thing since they were so hard to kill. If you cut off one head, two more would grow back.

Loki didn't deign to explain his comment, something that did not surprise Thor. Why was Loki even speaking with him? He wasn't being vicious or cruel towards Thor either, more so bemused.

Irritated at how unpredictable Loki was, Thor focused on his senses instead of the conversation in an attempt to sense the gimmer of magic that would give away Loki's location. Unsurprisingly, Thor's sensitivity to magic failed to find any trace of the trickster.

Asking Loki where he was wouldn't work – obviously – so Thor continued using his senses. He suddenly realized that Loki might not even be one of the people at the table. That would be too obvious, and he'd be very close to Odin who might detect him.

The only other place for him to hide was around the room, and only one location came to mind. Thor looked up. Despite the rafters of the council hall being well lit, Thor knew his guess was right. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he did. Growing up with Loki endowed on him a certain synchronization with Loki's magic. Even if Thor couldn't see or sense him, he knew Loki was in the rafters. Then he got the distinct impression that Loki was laughing, confirming his guess.

Loki lay on one of the rafters above the council with his head resting on crossed arms, giving the impression of a content cat. He was anything but content with his ring so close to being his again, wary of losing it. Practice prevented him from outwardly showing his unease though.

The depths of Thor's nativity always amused Loki and it only reinforced Loki's impression that Thor was unfit to rule. Thor hadn't even realized Loki had done a more in-depth scan during the conversation and picked up traces of Thor's dream. Loki had never seen the Aether in person before, but he had a distinct feeling that Thor was right about that being what it was. Was it a simple dream, or was Asgard warning its future ruler? It wouldn't be the first prophetic Thor had had if that was the case.

Either way, Loki's first priority was getting his ring. So far, he had scanned every person in the room except Odin. Loki was sure that since the ring wasn't in the Vault Odin was keeping it on his person for extra protection. Odin knew how much energy was in that ring and how much damage Loki could do with it. His only concern currently was using the lifeforce he had stored in it to stabilize himself, but after that Loki had every intention of causing a little bit of damage.

The only thing standing between Loki and that goal was Gungnir. There was no way he could scan Odin as long as he had ahold of Gungnir, likely the reason Odin had thought the ring was more secure with him. Annoyingly enough, Odin's instincts were right. This wasn't easy. How could he get Odin to let go of Gungnir while he was on guard?

Fandral had been inching back while the conversation turned from the report to the immediate reparations they needed. He was nearly at a table where some drinks had been set out. There were no servants present, them having been dismissed due to the sensitivity of the information. That was just as good since Fandral was so torn. It was obvious he was to as he lacked Loki's acting skills.

Kasir was in the dungeons, and Vir had to know he was. It didn't seem like he had realized the Marauder Kasir was the same Kasir that had defected from the Star Guard a century ago. Vir likely assumed he knew nothing, leaving Fandral the only one that knew better. Fandral knew that Kasir was a high-ranking commander of Nira's – he'd seen him standing at Nira's right hand.

Instinct dictated that he pass the information about Kasir's identity to Vir. Now would be a good time in front of the council where the issue of him could be discussed. If anyone knew about the alliance it would be Kasir. His heart betrayed his mind here. He wanted to give the turncoat a personal piece of his mind over his treason, owing the backstabber that much.

Thor seemed distracted by the proceedings, leaving Fandral to look over the drinks laid out in peace. Given the importance of this and the tendency of alcohol to dull the senses, there was none present. That suited Fandral fine since he didn't want any alcohol right now. He just wanted some cold water and picked up a pitcher in anticipation of pouring a mug.

His internal conflict made his hand tremble, but he managed to pour his drink well enough. It was only when he went to set the pitcher down that it seemed to jump out of his hand and fall onto the table. He barely managed to grab the pitcher in time to keep it from spilling, sloshing water on the table and the sleeve of his shirt. The mug had been sitting on the table luckily, but it almost toppled from his struggle.

The sound broke the silence that had fallen as everyone tried to absorb the new information, just as Loki hoped it would. Everyone looked in Fandral's direction, making the young warrior slowly turn red. Odin also looked at him. Loki had not moved from the rafter and slit his eyes in satisfaction. No one had noticed his little jinx.

"Fandral," Odin called out, recognized Thor's shield-brother, "a drink."

"Yes Allfather," Fandral bowed his head mutely, trying very hard to dull the red coloring him.

He glanced briefly at the mess of water, but then looked away and started to fill a second mug. Considering that his rank was the lowest, Fandral supposed he would be the one to be getting drinks. Fandral wondered why Tyr had asked him to be present.

This time, he managed to pour the mug without error and set the pitcher down. Fandral glared at the pitcher as if expecting it to jump out of his hand. Loki was slightly tempted to make it, but forced himself not to.

Ice magic was a subelement that involved air and water elemental magic, and by using the water aspect of his ice, Loki had managed to sap away all the moisture in the air. The dry throats everyone was feeling were not just apprehension from the current situation. Loki had relied on that to get Odin to take a drink. With luck, Odin would relax his hold on Gungnir to take a drink.

Come on, Loki silently goaded Odin as Fandral passed him a mug and stepped back. Loki couldn't scan Odin with Gungnir's energy in the way. Then he could see if his ring was with Odin. Amazingly enough, Odin leaned Gungnir against the table to pick up the mug with his right hand, his dominant hand.

Loki knew his time window would be short, so he instantly focused his magic and called for his ring. This time though his ring activated. Odin jumped as he felt the power of the ring suddenly wake up. It felt like his skin around it had turned to ice.

"Knew it," Loki purred and swung down from the rafters.

He would have to get closer to draw his ring to him, and he knew Odin would react quickly. Before his feet touched the table he telekinetically threw Gungnir out of reach, a good idea since Odin was already reaching for it, and then shoved out a hand to touch knock Odin from his chair.

His head swam from using so many spells in the past few minutes and mindspeaking to Thor, and he reached desperately for the ring. With the energy stored in the ring he would stabilize his lifeforce and allow him to continue to cast spells for a long time to come. The ring beckoned.

Loki landed on the table with the ring almost at his fingers. Everyone was shouting at his sudden appearance and reaching for weapons, but their reflexes weren't fast enough. He'd get his ring, and all the energy stored in it, before they could stop him.

* * *

Tilaria turned the detonator over in the cockpit of her ship as it began final approach vector to the planet the Celestial troops had commandeered as their headquarters. Most members of the sentient species that lived on the planet had been wiped out by a plague, and the survivors had been gathered and turned into a competent slave force.

Although she wanted to return to her manor, she knew her orders were to report to Arjax, so that was where her ship headed once it entered the planet's atmosphere.

She liked her position here. As a High General, she had her own manor near the coastline where she could smell the salt in the air and listen to the waves as they crashed on the shore. The bay near her house was clear water with a reef nearby. Her servants would go fishing all the time for her.

This was the perfect place to relax and recharge after a mission. She was always assigned to subjugate planets and their species, not pick up the pieces of what remained. That was given to someone else who would stay and become regent, leaving Tilaria to recharge after each campaign – if things were relaxed enough to let her rest between wars.

Her failure on Asgard could compromise all of that. She needed to fix that. Tilaria looked at her wristcomm, checking the scanners that had been hidden in Asgard's council hall and main healer's ward. The numbers of heat signatures in the council hall had gone upward, indicating that the leaders of Asgard were finally meeting. There were still plenty of heatsigns in the Healer's Ward.

Normally she would wait until she was with Arjax to get his permission to continue, but she had to do this now. If she waited then the meeting might break up. It would likely take another hour before she was before Arjax.

Tilaria held the detonator for the bombs within Gladsheimr in her hand. Then she sighed and pressed the detonation button. The two red lights flashed green in acknowledgment and the bombs exploded.

* * *

 **The two explosives mentioned were the two planted during the Celestial's attack near the end of " _Shadows of the Past_." The plot moves on.**


	9. Fel

Thor opened his eyes. He was lying face down on the floor and his head was ringing. The last thing he remembered was Loki jumping down from the rafters. Fire licked the tips of his fingers, and he jerked his hair back and sat up to get out of its reach. Fire? His mind was muggy.

Reality snapped into place. There had been an explosion, an ambush. Thor shakily stood and backed away from the fire. He looked around frantically. Where was everyone?

The fire hissed as it crept closer to his boots and Thor warily backed up again. His heart began to beat harder and faster as he looked at the fire. It was not ordinary orange-yellow fire or even magical blue-silver fire. This fire was an combination of yellow and green, the two colors pale and bleached out and tossed together to form a sickly shade of light.

"Fel," Thor whispered, wanting to take another step away from the cursed fire.

Records containing knowledge on how to learn Fel were destroyed when they were found. Not even the scholars among the mages read them. It was too easy to become entranced with its power. Thor had met only a handful of realmers that knew how to control Fel, and even fewer were still alive. In fact, there was only one alive – Tilaria.

The Fel fire's acidic grey smoke coupled with the dust in the air prevented Thor from seeing clearly. Where normal fire hungrily devoured everything rampaging around like a Bilgesnipe, Fel fire seemed to delicately walk across the surfaces not unlike a cat on a prowl for a fat mouse. Even the sound of this fire was wrong. Instead of a crackling snapping monster there was only a rustling noise as sinister as viper scales over leaves on a forest floor.

A shadow materialized beside him and solidified itself into Fandral. Rubble fell from the damaged ceiling and Thor grabbed Fandral. He dragged his friend forward seconds before the rubble fell onto where Fandral had been standing. Fandral gave him a grateful nod.

"Where is everyone else?" Thor demanded.

Unlike normal fire, Fel fire was quiet enough that Thor didn't have to raise his voice.

Fandral could only shrug helplessly. Thor glanced around. There had been a lot of people in here. He wanted to look for them while the Fel fire was still small, but he had tangled with the stuff before and knew it would be wiser to leave while the opportunity presented itself. Everyone might have gotten out already.

The two of them made a hasty retreat away from the fire. They were almost there when a ball of Fel fire leapt from its kin at them, hissing. Thor looked up a heartbeat too late. A smear of shadow suddenly materialized in front of the fire, and it smacked into that with a shriek. It tried to eat through the shadow, but shadows were made of nothingness so there was nothing to eat.

Thor had forgotten one crucial fact about Fel fire that set it apart from normal fire. Fel fire actively hunted and coordinated to trap prey. It was in that way sentient.

Thor and Fandral ran the rest of the way out of the Council Hall and past Sefæra. Sefæra summoned more shadows and halted the Fel fire's advance. Because Shadow Mages used the element of darkness they were often misconstrued as being evil, something Thor knew was wrong. Once again, he was stupidly relieved to see Sefæra, the daughter of a now-deceased Fel user named Daris, present. Fighting Fel was her specialty.

Safe for the moment, Thor took a breath and looked around to see who else had escaped. It appeared that most of the Star Guard that had been in the meeting were here, although several of them were nursing injured limbs or blackened burns on their skin. Thor felt sympathy for their burns. Fel burns were like Jötunn Frostburn – an Asgardian's healing factor wasn't enough to mend the wound and it _hurt_ like someone had dumped Basilisk venom on you. (Thor also knew from experience how much _that_ hurt.)

Thor couldn't believe he was getting distracted so easily when there was a Fel curse gone wild behind him so he focused on the other people present. His father was there with Gungnir in hand, completely unburned. More than anything, Thor was relieved his father was safe because no matter what Odin was still his father. Vir stood beside Odin and Huginn and Munnin sat on the Allfather's shoulders, ruffled, but alive. There was no sign of General Tyr but Thor assumed he had already left to spread the word and get help.

The only other absence that struck him was Loki's. Loki was probably fine though, Thor told himself. He'd dealt with Fel before to and even if he did escape, Thor doubted he'd be standing out here with Odin. Besides, he had the magic of his ring to draw from.

Then Thor remembered with horror that Loki didn't have it back. The initial shockwave of the explosion had knocked the ring from his fingers and thrown Loki into the opposite wall. No, then he would just teleport out of there and plan to come back to fetch his ring after the Fel was extinguished.

Thor realized that was wrong to. Unlike normal magic which manipulated energy and matter and sometimes changed one to the other, nothing was created or destroyed. Fel did destroy though, both matter and energy. Because of this, normal magic didn't work very well against or near it. The only reason Sefæra could hamper it was because she'd learn how to reach beyond her shadow into the Void and animate it.

Ginnungagap, the official name for the Void that surrounded Asgard and encompassed the nine realms, was like a protective shield that prevented alien races from crossing it. Fel feared the nothingness of it worse than the aliens, and even if it crossed Ginnungagap, it would die out because there was _nothing_ – no matter or energy – for it to consume. Loki had tried to copy Sefæra, but despite his affinity with the Tesseract, Ginnungagap rejected him. He couldn't use the Void, so his magic wouldn't work.

"Thor!" Odin shouted as he coughed from inhaling the acidic smoke. "Come away from the fire!"

Thor hesitated, and then forced himself to step back. Loki was nothing if not adaptive, and despite his magic being incompatible with void, he had seen Sefæra use it. He'd be fine. This was hardly the first time he had dealt with Fel fire.

Things in the hallway began to become very bright as Sefæra took the darkness to help her, leaving nothing but light. She was careful not to take anyone's shadow as she did this, having already learned what that did to a person. The shadow's seemed to ripple and vanish so they looked like the fabric of reality was trying to tear itself apart. That was the Void animated, and it replaced the shadow. Thor could see through it to the inside now, but it was distorted as if he were looking through a plane of bubbly glass. Seeing the warped fire through the strange air was disturbing in a way Thor couldn't explain.

"Thor," Vir said, jolting Thor to the present.

He glanced over his shoulder and Vir waved at him to come. Vir was helping support Odin, who had obviously been injured more badly then Thor had first thought. After a moment's hesitation, Thor shook his head.

"There are still people unaccounted for," Thor told him. "I won't leave yet."

Vir's eyes were dark with contradiction. He thought that Thor should do as he said, but he also agreed that it might be wise for him to stay. Odin started coughing again, and that convinced Vir.

"Stay out of the fire," the Commander ordered Thor and then began to help lead Odin to the Healer's Ward.

The other captains and people present scattered. Those that had been severely injured trailed after them, but others went to spread the warning and evacuate the area. There was always a chance the Fel might spread. Jaro looked mistrustfully at Sefæra, seeming to be genuinely concerned for Thor's safety, but left after Thor nodded at him to. He watched as Jaro caught up to Fandral and helped him carry one of the more injured men. Evacuating the area was the right thing to do, and Thor still felt he should be doing that as he turned to face the Fel flames.

The fact that Loki was still missing was on the forefront of his mind as he thought back to Fel flames. It didn't need organic material to burn, capable of using things like metal, stone, air, or even water as fuel. Magic, as energy, would only be converted into Fel if used against it.

"Sef," Thor addressed Sefæra as he stepped up beside her. "How are you going to put that out?"

"You should remember that I can't," Sefæra scolded him. "All I can do is use Ginnungagap to contain it. Fel is inherently unstable though," she added with a smirk smirked, "even more than usual without a mage controlling it. Once it runs out of fuel to burn in the contained area it will cannibalize itself until it is gone."

Thor hated how she made the Fel sound like it was sentient, despite knowing how apt a description that was.

"You should catch up to the others my prince," Sefæra added as she drew the void a little closer together, stitching up the area. "You'll feel the effects of breathing in the smoke soon enough. I have this under control."

"There are still people missing-" Thor tried to tell her.

"They're dead," Sefæra interrupted. "Or soon will be. That's how Fel works. Either you manage to dodge it and leave uninjured or you get caught in it and die. There is no middle ground. These people have been caught in it. Even if I give them the benefit of the doubt they will still die and the Fel might be able to slip past me."

She did not say the words unkindly or cruelly, but in a flat tone of voice. As much as Sefæra might wish it otherwise, she was simply telling the truth. Thor felt a chill go down his spine despite knowing that Sefæra hated to say the words. They lacked a note of mercy or sorrow as if she didn't care about those the Fel was burning. Loki's ravens were strong yes, but sometimes Thor couldn't help but be scared of them.

That was when there was a shift. Fel burned much hotter than normal fire and the heat had become as stifling as the smoke that snaked from the room and clung to the ceiling over their heads. All of a sudden, Thor stopped feeling the heat and began to feel very cold.

His first thought was that the ice veins in his chest were responsible, but he realized almost instantly that wasn't it. Thor exhaled, his breath appearing as a small white cloud as if were winter and not summer. The temperature was literally dropping and Sefæra hissed between her teeth. She had recognized that this was Loki's ice magic to then.

The yellow-green flames squirmed, and Thor's breath caught when he saw ice begin to creep across the surface of the Fel. It was Loki. He was trying to freeze the flames to death like he had done with the other fires yesterday.

"Idiot," Sefæra growled. "It'll just feed off his energy."

 _Well what do you expect Loki to do, burn?_ Thor forced the retort down and looked for his brother with renewed desperation. The ice crystalized over the fire completely, freezing it solid. It looked as if the ruins of the Council Hall had become home to a field of tainted emeralds. If Loki could stop the Fel for even a few seconds he might be able to get out.

"Loki's inside, isn't he?" Sefæra asked Thor softly.

"Yeah," Thor replied, not stupid enough to go inside despite feeling a burning need to do so and help Loki.

Then the ice started vibrating. It trembled and rose in pitch. Thor saw movement, a flash of green and black, and then the ice shattered.

"Loki," Thor whispered. "Loki!"

Sefæra thickened the void of matter and energy in front of them and the ice shards that touched it stopped and hovered as if suspended in molasses. Then the Fel came roaring back to life, stronger than before. Loki's attempt had backfired, and he hadn't been able to escape. Thor paled when he saw that the flames had grown in brightness and size. The hissing sound it made sounded deceptively like laughter.

Sefæra's hands started shaking as she worked for control of Ginnungagap. She had to keep the Fel contained or else it would get loose and that was the _last_ thing Asgard needed. She couldn't help Loki without letting the Fel go free so he was on his own. Part of being a Raven Blade was being able to make difficult choices.

Loki growled under his breath as he slowly straightened from dropping on one knee and raising a ward against his wayward ice. Luckily, it was still his ice so he was able to dissipate it before it hurt him. He looked around, the brief glimpse of Thor and Sefæra he had gotten vanishing behind the flames.

Although he didn't realize it at that instant, he was making the same mistake he chided others for – not looking up. He didn't realize it, but much of the ceiling had fallen or been damaged and the pillars that held it up were being consumed by Fel fire. Dust and grains of stone fell as the ceiling began to give.

Loki coughed, feeling the Fel smoke eat away at his lungs. He was suddenly glad he had left Slítas behind at Heartland. Although Slítas seemed impossible to kill, he wasn't entirely convinced he was an immortal. The fire was all around him, creeping closer. A small stone landed on Loki's head as he looked for a path through the Fel.

"Ow," Loki muttered and rubbed his head, voice hoarse from inhaling the smoke.

He hesitated as if suddenly realizing something and looked up. When he saw the fire eating away above and swallowed.

"Oh no," he whispered.

Then the roof collapsed.

* * *

 **Fel is not a good sort of magic to be using. It's as damaging to the mage as it is to the fabric of reality. "To the highest pinnacles of power and the darkest depths of magic." That is what Fel magic gifts to its casters.**


	10. A Little Brotherly Hatred

The walls groaned unhappily when most of the roof collapsed and for an instant, the Fel fire shrank away. Then the instant of hesitation passed and the Fel approached the debris curiously. It happily discovered it was edible and began to travel along the stone and metal while part of it continued to paw at the barrier Sefæra had erected. A third part of the fire split off and began to climb the walls to the hole in the ceiling, thinking it might have found a way past the shadowcaster blocking its passage.

"I have to seal it off," Sefæra said reluctantly.

"Loki's in there," Thor hissed.

"The Fel is spreading," Sefæra repeated. "Loki should have left when he had the chance instead of staying behind to look for his ring."

Thor looked like Sefæra had slapped him when he said that, but he stopped before he snapped an angry retort at her callousness. It was how she looked. She looked distressed and torn, but knew that she had to safeguard Asgard and all of its lives over the life of one person – even if that person was her commander.

"Step back, my prince," Sefæra ordered him flatly, trying not to let her emotions leech into her voice.

He looked at the ring Loki had given him, the red jewel pale and washed out from the presence of Fel. Loki was still there. The last time he had abandoned Loki he had watched him fall from Bifrost, and so much pain and death had happened as a result of that. Although he wasn't sure if Loki _was_ still the little brother he had grown up with, Thor also wasn't sure he _wasn't_. He refused to leave him behind again.

Thor didn't look back. He started running towards the Fel. His thoughts went out to Mjölnir and his weapon came almost instantly. Its handle came to rest in his palm as he slipped through the gap Sefæra had left.

"H-hey!" Sefæra shouted. "Get back! You'll both be killed!"

Unsurprisingly, Thor ignored her. The heat from the Fel flames almost made him pass out, and the Fel that was not exploring or fighting Sefæra swayed away from Thor. When it recognized him as a very edible organic being it surged forward. He swung Mjölnir through the air and the Fel skittered backwards again by the force of the wind generated. Thor would swear the fire laughed, a hissing laugh reminiscent of a snake, and he fought an intense urge not to flee in the face of the Fel. An inanimate object should not laugh. He raised the collar of his shirt to his mouth, breathing through the cloth to try to filter the smoke.

"Thor!" Sefæra shouted again, trying to look inside in an effort to see either of her princes.

A small tongue of the fire took advantage of her distraction to leap past her barricade. Her eyes widened as the fire came at her but her shadow protected her. Instinctively, it lifted off the second dimension to stand in front of her, and the flame whacked it. It would find a way to burn it given enough time, but Sefæra had already learned how important it was to protect her shadow and she did not give it a chance. Sefæra could almost image it shrieked in frustration as she wrapped it in a ball of Ginnungagap's energy and tossed it back to the rest of its kin.

Her shadow hadn't returned to the ground and begun acting like a normal shadow again like it usually did, and pointed up. The shadow maintained its semblance to her and could evidently see something she could not. Sefæra focused her magic to her eyes allowing her vision to sharpen so she could see through the thick Fel smoke.

Then she saw what had alarmed her shadow so much. She hadn't seen it at first, but she now noticed the hole in the ceiling where her defenses did not reach. The Fel fire had found the chink and was starting to creep into the room above. If it got free of the room then it would race around uncontrollably.

Thor didn't realize the dire turn things had taken, turning this way and that in an attempt to see Loki through the fire and smoke. Much of the smoke was clinging to the roof, making it a little easier to breath. The Fel was cautious of Mjölnir and did not approach him carelessly again.

"Loki, Loki say something!" Thor called out, and took a step back as a few stones from the ceiling fell.

There was a creak from the support pillars of the ceiling that had not yet fallen, and Thor didn't think they'd stay up there much longer.

"Brother!"

Loki's eyes slowly came back into focus and he groaned. His head hurt and he was having a hard time breathing. For some reason he couldn't feel his legs. When his eyes finally focused he found himself face down on a floor strewn with pieces of stone and metal rubble. He didn't really understand what he was seeing until he say a tendril of green-yellow essence like fire creep along the floor in his line of sight.

"Fel," He whispered, confused as to why such a cursed magic would be here.

Then he remembered and he hissed, trying to sit up. Pain shot through his temples and he laid down again, breath shallow in an attempt to inhale as little smoke as possible. He turned his head to see that a support beam from the roof had collapsed on him, which was why he was having trouble breathing. The stone was hot to the touch when he pressed his palm against it although it might seem extra hot to him given his low tolerance to heat. There was certainly no way he was going to lift it on his own, and using magic in Fel was a bad idea.

Loki heard someone shouting although he couldn't make out much. His ears were still ringing from the explosion and his head hurt. He wasn't in a position to be picky though. Fool on him for staying here instead of getting out of the Fel when he had the chance. Leaving would mean leaving his ring, and the energy stored inside, behind. Maybe he should have left instead of staying and then planned to come back after the fire to find his ring.

With effort, he snapped his fingers as he threw his hand up. A trail of green sparkles went up and exploded into a firework before being quickly absorbed by the fire. It didn't last long, but it was enough for Thor to see it. He dodged the flames, having recognized the emerald-tinted magic.

When he saw his brother he gulped and stopped. There was a line of Fel fire separating him from Loki but he could still see that Loki was pinned to the ground, struggling to free himself although it was obvious that he wasn't strong enough to move it. Some of the Fel fire had started to move along the pillar in his direction and judging from how frantic Loki looked it appeared he knew it.

"And he says I'm the one that always gets in impossible situations," Thor muttered as he took a few steps back.

He ran and jumped, barely clearing the Fel fire. His landing was skewed, but he managed to stay on his feet.

Loki drew his lips back in a wordless snarl at Thor's arrival. He wanted to tell Thor to make himself scarce, but it seemed he had swallowed too much smoke. His throat was burned too badly to speak. Then the vicious chill in his eyes dissolved and he suddenly looked very amused, resting his head on one hand.

Thor didn't understand why Loki suddenly looked amused until he pointed. He followed where Loki was pointing and realized a bit of Fel fire was eating at his red cloak. Quickly, he unclasped the cloth and threw it into the hungry fire where it was devoured. No ashes were left behind.

Truthfully, Thor was surprised Loki wasn't saying anything. Normally, he would use this chance to get in some scything comments. Was it the smoke? Thor felt guiltily pleased that Loki couldn't speak, whatever the reason. Loki's expression transitioned back into something akin to a death glare when Thor took a step closer to him.

"If you don't want me to help then I'll leave," Thor warned him.

Thor watched Loki draw his lips back from his teeth in a silent, feral snarl, but then he looked down. It seemed he had swallowed his pride for now, and a silent answer for Thor to stay and help. Relieved that Loki wasn't going to try to kill him right now, Thor took a closer look at the rubble.

"We don't really have time so I suggest you duck," Thor warned him and raised Mjölnir.

Loki's eyebrows shot up and he looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped and ducked his head, covering it with his arms. Thor tightened his grip on Mjölnir's handle and swung at the pillar with an uppercut. There was no magic involved, merely brute strength, and it easily broke the pillar in two and sent it flying off Loki. It hit the barrier Sefæra had cloaked the area in and made it waver dangerously, almost tearing it. He felt a little guilty because he knew it would strain Sefæra, but that wasn't the most immediate problem.

The most immediate problem was the fire. Loki attempted to stand beside him, but fell back to the ground before he could stand completely. He hissed and put a hand to one of his legs, a perplexed look. Was his leg broken? Strange, it should have healed already. Thor couldn't imagine that his lifeforce was so low his wounds weren't healing.

Thor touched Loki's shoulder hesitantly and asked in a whisper, "Loki?"

One of Loki's hands snapped out and caught his wrist, breaking it with a sharp _snap_. His other hand punched Thor and landed solidly on his face. Thor stumbled backwards and fell, banging his head on the pillar and dropping Mjölnir. His head rang from the impact, and he sat up a little slower then he would have liked given the circumstances they were in.

Well, Loki might not be healing as fast as he should be but it seemed that his strength was the same as ever. Loki did not consider him family anymore. Thor should not have forgotten that. Head still spinning slightly, he stood and walked back to Loki, recalling Mjölnir to his hand as he did so. He saw Loki tense as if expecting an attack and Thor held up his hands in surrender that he had no intention of attacking him.

"We need to get out of here before we try to settle our differences," Thor warned him with a glance around the Fel flames.

Loki tssked silently, but tipped is head in agreement. He tried to stand but his injured leg buckled. Thor grabbed one of his arms to keep him from falling again and Loki drew a dagger. There was a moment where Thor froze, expecting Loki to strike at him again despite the threat of the Fel. Then Loki lowered his dagger.

Thor exhaled, relieved. Despite the fact that it looked like he was seething, Loki didn't try to attack him as Thor helped him stand. He favored his left leg, keeping his weight off it. Honestly, Loki thought waspily, he was as helpless as a human. The Fel flames had crept closer in the interim and Thor swung at them again, creating a gust strong enough to push them back a pace.

Thor kept as good a grip as he could on Loki and started walking. Loki's step faltered, and he leaned against Thor, letting him support him. He didn't weigh much. Although Loki didn't strike at him, Thor noticed that Loki still held the dagger in his hand.

* * *

Sefæra glanced down the hallway behind her, surprised that it remained so quiet. Enough time had passed for Odin and the others to sound the alarm that they had a fire and send help, yet it remained silent. Where was everyone? Was something else going on that she didn't know about?

"Sef!" Thor shouted.

Sefæra was able to easily hear his shout over the deceptively quiet Fel flames, and ordered her shadow softly to, "help them."

Her shadow distorted and separated from her body, gliding across the surface of the ground. When it reached Thor and Loki it rose off the ground like a half-shell. Linked with Ginnungagap through Sefæra as it was, it was able to shield them until they were past the Fel. Thor was relieved again that of all the mages which could have been present it was Sefæra who was here, although he was a bit unnerved when he saw Sefæra standing there without casting a shadow on the ground.

Part of her shadow swiped at the Fel when a few embers tried to cling to the princes, and the flames backed up, sulking. Sefæra's shadow dissolved back to the ground and rejoined with her body once the princes were safe, allowing her to see the extent of their injuries. Thor was fine, but Loki didn't seem to be able to walk.

There were a few seconds where Sefæra stood there, hesitating. Her shadow tugged at the leg of her pants, reminding her that the Fel was creeping out of the room. She couldn't let it spread. Reluctantly, she turned her back on the princes – hoping they wouldn't try to kill each other while she was distracted – and focused on the task at hand. Any other lifeforces that had remained inside were gone now, and Sefæra encapsulated the entire area in the void's empty energy, setting it in place.

Once she was sure it was finally secure she turned away and looked at the princes. Both had collapsed onto the floor, coughing. They were covered in a generous amount of dust and dried blood was running down Loki's temple. Neither had any ash on them though as Fel fire burned so hot that ash was not left.

Loki returned the dagger into his sleeve and leaned forward, running his fingers across the injury on his left leg. He winced, clenching his teeth, when he felt a break in the tibia. It wasn't healing. It wasn't healing. He didn't have enough lifeforce left to quicken the healing of the break. Instead of healing in a few seconds as it should, the wound just sat there.

It was almost like he was a human, the wound healing so slowly. Loki stared at the injured leg, swallowing and feeling pain from the action from his burned throat. He was healing at the rate of a human. That meant he could be killed as easily as a human could and that made him very mortal indeed.

"Thor?" Sefæra asked.

"I'm fine enough," Thor dismissed her, looking at the Fel flames.

The void's energy blocked the sound of the Fel but Thor could see it writhing and thrashing inside as it struggled to free itself. It was almost as if the fire knew it was trapped.

Sefæra knelt by Loki's side instead, shocked by how dim and small his normally vibrant aura was. It had passed critical levels some time ago. She let the charm that let her see his aura fade and set her hand on Loki's injured leg. The wound was not healing at the rate it should be. That fact did not escape her, nor did its implications.

The Fel would burn itself out now so Sefæra thought she could spare Loki some magic. It was little wonder he had risked staying behind to search for his ring and the energy it contained with his Seidr so low. Loki didn't look up from the now healed leg as Sefæra rested her hand on Loki's cheek, her fingers brushing against his temple. It took more of her Seidr then she cared to admit to partially stabilize him.

While she was dosing him she brushed across his mind. _*We're all ready to go, my prince, if you need us. All of us.*_

Then she lowered her hand before Loki could respond. Loki slowly raised his eyes to hers, confusion lighting his eyes. The Raven Blades were still loyal to him? How… how was that possible?

Sefæra gave him a small smile. Her shadow came off the floor just enough to tug at the hem of her pants again, indicating there was something else going on she should know about. She looked down and the shadow stretched itself so it was pointing down the hall away from the fire, not even attempting to match Sefæra's form as a shadow should do.

 _*Sef!*_ Someone shouted to her telepathically.

 _*Myrit?*_ Sefæra responded, recognizing the speaker. _*What is it?*_

A red-tailed hawk came into view, beating its wings against the too still air to maintain its flight. Whilst in his animal form, Myrit was a powerful telepath.

 _*You are here,*_ Myrit said, relief seeping into his mental voice, _*good. Jaro said you were.*_

The hawk screeched to a halt, its forward momentum dropping to nil as it looked at the contained Fel fire.

Beating his wings to hover, Myrit demanded. _*There was a bomb here to?*_

Thor and Loki weren't able to hear the conversation, but Sefæra felt her blood run cold at Myrit's indication.

"No way," she whispered aloud. "What do you mean by 'here to?' Is there another bomb?"

Thor's breath hissed between his teeth when he heard Sefæra say that. There was another bomb? That meant there was another Fel fire!

 _*H-healer's ward,*_ Myrit stuttered as if he had a hard time stringing the syllables together.

Sefæra stared at the hawk and then whispered, "The patients."

 _*They weren't able to evacuate very many,*_ Myrit reluctantly told her, _*and they need help keeping the fire from spreading.*_

Patients, Thor repeated to himself stupidly. The only real patients were… were… in the healer's ward. You didn't go around bombing enemy medical bases, especially not with Fel. It was an unspoken rule of war. Those that were no longer a threat and if one side attacked medical facilities then those attacked would retaliate and destroy the first group's medics as well. Thus, both factions would lose their medical centers, and the wounded would die on both sides.

These were Celestials they were at war against though, Thor reminded himself grimly. Considering what they had done in the last war, Thor shouldn't be surprised. Yet, stupidly, he was.

"I'm coming," he heard Sefæra promise Myrit. "Come down here. I'll use your energy to teleport."

She held out her arm and the hawk flew over and landed on her forearm, much like a normal hawk would return to its master. Sefæra thought about the large dose of energy she had just given Loki, silently lamenting how it had weakened her. She would be wishing very soon she still had the extra Seidr, she just knew it. The thought of taking the dose of lifeforce back _from_ Loki never crossed her mind.

"Stay alive you two," Sefæra ordered the princes.

Then she drew from Myrit's lifeforce and both of them vanished in a flurry of sparkles as they teleported to the new problem spot. Loki was still processing Sef's dose and the knowledge that the Ravens were with him after all. The fact that there had been a second bomb hadn't even reached him yet.

Thor felt the urge to run after them towards the ward and do what he could to help, however little that may be. Yet he didn't move his feet. Some part of him was warning not to just run off and leave Loki behind. He was no mage and even if he was, he couldn't help Sefæra draw from Ginnungagap. Mjölnir wouldn't intimidate a large blaze. He could do no good there.

So instead of leaving, though it killed him not to try to help, Thor turned back to Loki.

"Come on," Thor ordered his brother. "We need to get you out of the palace in the confusion."

"We?" Loki inquired tartly.

His eyes lit up when he spoke. Evidently, the surge of magic had healed his throat as well as his leg. Thor was a little less happy that Loki could talk, but helped him stand. Loki tore his arm from Thor's grip, swaying. Again, Thor stabilized him.

"That dose you got hasn't set in yet," Thor told Loki firmly, recalling what Loki had taught him about magic. "Until it does, you won't even be able to walk. Given that there are probably going to be Star Guard or others coming here shortly, you might consider letting me help you."

"I don't need the help of an Asgardian," Loki informed Thor none too cordially.

Thor remembered all the adventures and misadventures they had gotten into as children.

"You used to," he said softly.

Loki smirked, lips twisting into a sneer that exposed his sharpened canines.

"That was a phase," Loki assured him confidently, "one I've outgrown Odinson. You were of some use to me so I'll let you go unchallenged this time. Don't expect it to go that way the next time we cross paths."

Then he turned on his heel and walked away. His steps were unsteady and he kept one hand on the wall for support, but he managed to walk. Thor watched his progress, heart heavy. While Loki was letting him life, Thor still hadn't seen much indication that Loki was still the brother he had grown up with. In fact, he didn't think he'd seen any at all.

* * *

 ** _Yeah_ , that could have gone better in so many ways.**


	11. Loyalty

Sefæra fought to keep the second blaze in check. Likely it had started out the same size as the one in the Council Hall, but it had grown. Not only had it more time it also had more fuel. Many of the patients wouldn't be able to move or escape the flames and the air would have been saturated with healing magic. Healers would still have been inside and they had probably tried to fight the Fel fire as if it were a normal or charmed fire. Unlike normal or charmed fire though, Fel didn't need oxygen to burn and it was the only type of fire that fed on magic.

They would have fought the fire, removing the air molecules around it to smother it or raising wards around their patients as they tried to evacuate. You couldn't fight Fel though. All you could do was flee and contain it. If someone got left behind then they got left behind. It was cruel, but that was how Fel magic was. It had led to the death of the Gods as they slaughtered each other for power. There was no greater sorrow then the fact Fel magic had outlived the gods.

Tilaria was one of several mortals who had learned the magic that had killed the gods, but not the only one. Daris Amrasson, an infamous Ljósálfr traitor, was one, but there were others. Normally, Tilaria dealt with them, but as a Dökkálfr, she was technically a citizen of Muspelheim and foster child of Surtr. She wasn't always where she needed to be. Sometimes she wasn't able to get where she needed as her Dökkálfr heritage barred her from being allowed to help. So she had trained the other Raven Blades to deal with Fel users. Sefæra Darisdottir was one of the members that had the best success, able to draw from the Void.

It was that training that let Sefæra stabilize one part of the palace, and that training that was letting her work on this second blaze. There were several problems with this blaze though. She hadn't attended to it as quickly as the first so it had had time to grow. Unlike in the council where everyone had simply fled, mages had stayed behind to help patients, fighting the fire despite that backfiring. The dose she had given Loki, thinking she was done with Fel for the day, had lessened the amount of Seidr she had to deal with it. The main infirmary was, like most of Asgard's rooms, bigger on the inside then the outside, and it was giving her even more trouble.

A few embers of Fel were still getting through, forcing her to look behind and deal with each individual one before it could grow. That distracted her from smothering the fire which let even more embers escape. It was a dangerous cycle.

Behind her, Thor was helping escort the injured and those that managed to escape the blaze to a safer distance. He was willing to go back into the Fel and see if he could rescue those still trapped, but Sefæra had flatly told him no. Odin, standing near Sefæra, had concurred.

"I can't contain it," Sefæra called out as she was forced to take a step back, terror seeping into her voice.

As long as Fel fire had fuel to burn it would theoretically never stop. That meant it could burn the entire realm of Asgard to dust. It had happened to some of the other realms created by the gods, some of the worlds that hadn't survived the gods' fall. Only nine realms had survived Fel, and only eight, as Niflheim was dead, had managed to retain life. Eight out of the dozens that had originally been created.

Her shadows became transparent as she drew on Ginnungagap, thanking Yggdrasil for letting her use it. The Fel fire gnawing through the stones in an attempt to get free and began to screech when they hit the ward Sefæra had raised with the void. It began to howl impatiently to be free, clawing at the ward like a rabid cat. Never did Sefæra wish so much that Fel had not been rediscovered after the gods' fall.

At her feet, her shadow squirmed, no longer mirroring her silhouette. It was impatient and it knew the danger of this.

 _Give me some time_ , Sef chided the spirit that she had bonded with her shadow, _I know your job is to protect me but my job is to protect Asgard._

Fey was hurriedly working to stabilize those with Fel burns with other mages, and Odin brushed by her to Sefæra. He really didn't like the Raven Blades and he didn't like the shadowcaster as a person, but he was not going to let Asgard be razed by Fel. _Anything_ would be better than that. Her shadow tugged at the hem of her pants, alerting her to his approach.

"Sefæra," Odin addressed her. "Can I help you reinforce the seal?"

"It will feed on your magic," Sef shook her head, "won't work."

"What if you drew on my energy?" Odin asked.

"You'd let me use the Odinforce?" Sefæra asked.

Something in her tone of voice changed when she asked that, and Odin didn't think he liked the change. He had a feeling he might regret letting the Raven near one of the most powerful sources of magic on Asgard, but he didn't have a choice. Protecting Asgard came first.

With a slight feeling of dread, Odin brought Gungnir out of sleep mode. The instrument hummed greetings as it woke up, and Odin set a hand on Sefæra's shoulder. With a gentle nudge, he redirected its power and told it to reinforce Sefæra's seidr in her soul. Sef gasped as new power suddenly flowed into her soul, energizing her.

The transparent energy of the Void began to glow gold and she quickly lessened the influx of power, not wanting to give the Fel any energy to feed from. Glorious power tripped through her nervous system as she slowly sipped from the pure energy of the Odinforce. The Odinforce was more than just Odin's lifeforce spiked with Gungnir. It also contained the lifeforce's of Odin's older brother Vili and Vée as they had given Odin their power just before their deaths. It was an amazing source of power for a mortal to wield.

The Fel leapt towards the tantalizing hum of the Odinforce but smashed facefirst into Ginnungagap. Where it touched the void's power, bits of it turned into nothingness as their atoms were broken apart and turned from matter to energy. Sipping gently from the Odinforce, she expanded her field until it was encircled and then froze it there.

The Fel was contained. Sefæra swooned as Odin cut off the supply of Odinforce and lowered his hand from her shoulder. He was about to catch her but her shadow lifted off the ground and caught her, becoming solid. It was mirroring Sefæra's shape, but it still made Odin take a sharp step back. Although he had at some point realized Sefæra's shadow was no longer just a shadow he didn't know when. It had been that way for centuries, but it still unnerved him.

The shadow proceeded to pick up its guardian in its arms and carry her some ways away from the Void-enforced ward. It set her on the ground, leaning her against the wall, without making a sound. Then it lost its form that mirrored hers and sank into ground. The two-dimensional black stain rejoined with Sefæra's body, once again mirroring her form and acting as if it was any other shadow.

Thor exhaled softly, feeling a chill go down his spine. Sefæra loved her shadow and it had helped Thor in the past, so although he didn't hate it, he couldn't say it didn't disturb him. He pushed it aside and knelt by Sefæra to check her pulse, ignoring the fact that the shadow was moving ever so slightly despite Sefæra being still.

"What about all the people in there?" Fey demanded, standing from her most recent patient.

"They're dead," Odin told her harshly, "or they soon will be."

"But-"

"Fey," Myrit, standing to one side, interrupted her. "He's right. We've dealt with Fel before."

Fey turned her head and looked away, biting a lip in frustration. She turned away from them and stalked to look at another patient, one of the Star Guard that had been injured from the Celestials. Odin waved Vir over and the Commander of his Star Guard came.

"This is a present from the Celestials, isn't it?" Vir asked Odin. "The attack was the gift and this was the wrapping."

"I think it's safe to assume that," Odin agreed. "Vir, do you know how many mortals know how to use Fel?"

Vir looked down, thinking it over. He shook his head after a few seconds.

"Most of them are dead," Vir shrugged. "They've been killed… except."

He narrowed his eyes and glanced up at Odin.

"Tilaria," Odin finished.

Vir exhaled and shook his head. "It's not her fault. You know that, right? Once the Celestials capture someone they give them new memories and discard the old. Asgardians like Red that they reprogram can't even remember that they were raised in the Nine Realms. They think they were raised among the Celestials and owe allegiance only to them."

"Yes," Odin admitted, "but you also know that the reprogramming, once completed, is permanent. There's no choice but to kill them and end the threat they pose. That's what had to be done with Red."

Killing Red hadn't been easy. She had been a girl, only about fifteen years old by human time. As a former Raven Blade she was well-trained with intimate knowledge of the squad and Asgard's defenses.

"That won't go over well," Vir said darkly. "Loki will do everything possible to stop us from killing her and the Ravens will side with him, turning them against us. We need the Ravens and Loki. He proved his usefulness when he drove off the Celestials."

"He is expendable," Odin disagreed, "and he will become expendable. Now send out search parties. We need to make sure there aren't any more fires."

"Fine," Vir took the chance to steer to a more pleasant subject. "I'll get some men together."

"She'll be fine," Myrit told Thor with a smile. "If Sef was in _real_ danger of dying from exhaustion then her shadow would be panicking. It's just sitting there all mellow though."

"Thor," Odin called out, flagging his son over. "Are you fit enough to go with Vir and scout for more fires?"

"I'm fine," Thor nodded.

"I can come to," Myrit added. "Some eyes in the sky will help, and I'm sure I could round up the rest of the squad."

Thor nodded, used to having the Ravens involved. Odin however, cleared his throat. Myrit rolled his eyes despite Thor cringing.

"The Raven Blades are no longer a unit," Odin reminded them. "They're civilians now.

"What?" Myrit taunted, venom chilling his normally light voice. "Haven't you ever heard of citizens arrest _Allfather_?"

He laughed and then shifted into his hawk form and flew down the hallway, going out an open window. Thor sighed and shook his head at Myrit's sudden viciousness. Odin didn't have any friends among the Ravens. If Loki attempted a coup, then Thor realized he wasn't sure if the Ravens wouldn't back him up and help him kill Odin. They were simply too loyal to him.

That thought did not put the prince, now Asgard's only prince, at ease.

Vir glanced around at the various patients in an attempt to locate his brother, but there was no sign of Tyr, Asgard's one-handed General and Odin's second in command. He brushed the thought aside, assuming Tyr had already launched into things. He was sure he'd come across Tyr sooner or later.

* * *

 **I sense a possible, explosive clash in the future between Loki and his foster father.**


	12. The Ring

Half an hour had passed since Sefaera had stopped the first fire and the ward of Ginnungagap's energy around the council hall faded. The Fel had burned itself out and it was now safe to enter. One of the first to gain entry was a Star Guard dressed in the white and crimson of the Blood Wolves. It was Svanr, the young wolf who was even now carrying out Lorelei's orders.

He had not been present for the fire, having been with Lorelei at the time, but had now returned to the capital. Lorelei thought Svanr might find something of value in the burned-out hall, and he was inclined to believe her. It wasn't just because her thrall would have him agree with anything she said, although that was one factor, it was also because it made sense. There had been powerful people killed and when people died all of their powerful trinkets were left on their bodies just asking to be taken. Normally he would never sink so low as to scavenge bodies like a Marauder but he would forbear for his mistress.

As he wove through the mess inside the hall, he stumbled across melted armor and fell flat in the dust. He sat back up and looked at the body. There were bones within the armor, but the Fel fire had eaten away all traces of flesh. Svanr wasn't sure, but the armor looked like it belonged to the Captain of the Red Rain. Red Rain was an ally of the Raven Blades and many Raven Blade initiates that didn't make the cut to join Angborn's squad were drafted into Red Rain.

Svanr didn't find anything of interest on the body and moved on to the body of another captain, unable to identify which squad they belonged to. Then he saw the gilding on the armor and realized this was no mere captain. He knelt to get a closer look and felt a strike of sorrow course through him. This body didn't have his right hand.

"Tyr," he whispered as he bowed over the body.

Asgard's general, Odin's second in command, was dead.

He bowed his head and whispered a prayer to Hela for him, hoping Tyr would find a place in Valhalla. When he finished his prayer, he opened his eyes and that something was sparkling amid the debris near him.

He reached over and gently dusted off the area to reveal a dirtied ring. Carefully, Svanr picked it up and looked at it. He thought he saw something green beneath the dusty surface, but it was too heavily stained to see clearly.

Svanr looked down at Tyr's body, seeing that the former general's left hand had been reaching towards the ring when he had died. It must be important if Tyr was reaching for it. After a moment's hesitation, he put it in his pocket, thinking his mistress might be interested.

After that he stood and resumed scouring through debris and searching bodies. Tyr probably would have fought against Lorelei anyway, Svanr told himself in consolation, so he would have needed to be killed. Despite losing his right hand to Loki's wolf Fenrir, the general had been trusted by Asgard and respected by his enemies. Fighting the Celestials would be much harder now, but Svanr assumed that his Lady Lorelei would help. Celestials were enemies to all.

He found nothing else of interest and decided to report to his mistress before Jaro found him, having no inclination to explain himself to his former captain. Before he left, he wiped his footprints clean to hide his presence and walked back along the stone so he would leave no trace. No one challenged him as he left Gladsheimr and began to head back to the burned-out bookstore where his mistress was.

People were too busy running around panicking to notice him, especially since the fire in the Healer's Ward was still burning. Thick, grey black clouds had formed overhead, promising rain. It usually rained after a large fire, the heat from the blaze warming the atmosphere overhead, so the realization didn't bother him. He made it to his mistress before the rain began and tapped on the doorframe of the store, requesting entrance. His mistress's beautiful voice called out for him to do so and he happily approached and knelt before her.

"My lady, glory of Asgard," Svanr greeted flatteringly. "I return so I may bask in thy beauty, Lady Lorelei."

Lorelei gave him a seductive smile as she reclined on a table layered with pillows. "Do you have a report to make?"

"The Fel fire," Svanr started.

"I am well aware of that," Lorelei interrupted. Her voice was laced with irritation. "If you're wasting my time…"

"N-no," Svanr stuttered, "never."

He clumsily withdrew the ring he had taken from the debris and held it out to her.

"A ring?" Lorelei sneered, "You come to me with some dirty ring?"

"I found this with Tyr's body after the Fel fire was extinguished," Svanr tried to say again. "I think he was reaching for it when he died."

"That means nothing!" Lorelei snapped.

She slapped Svanr's hand and knocked the ring from it. What she expected to hear was the clatter of metal, but when it hit the floor the ring chimed as only enchanted crystal could. Lorelei breathed in sharply at the noise.

Ignoring the hurt look in Svanr's eyes she held out a hand with her palm up. The ring levitated up to her fingers. Careful not to directly touch it, Lorelei swept her feet off the table she had been lounging on and walked to a pitcher filled with water. She dropped the ring inside and spiked the water with her magic.

Condensation appeared on the wood as the water's temperature lowered. The ring glowed dark green beneath the stain of dust and blood as it cleaned itself. What was left was a copper ring, the outside of which was covered in shards of emerald that were shaped like rose leaves and overlapped like viper scales. Each shard glowed from within from magic stored in it.

"Svanr," Lorelei started with breathless excitement.

Svanr cringed. He did not want his mistress upset with him.

"You are wonderful," Lorelei said with a melodious laugh. "Do you know what this is? No, a fool like you could not know. This is Loki's ring! To have this ring's power in my hands…! Loki has stored his magic in it for centuries. If I can tap into it I can fool the barriers into thinking _I_ am royal and echo my magic off it. I could bring every man under my control at once."

"I did good then Milady?" Svanr asked cautiously.

Lorelei gave him a beaming smile. "You did very good."

She reached into the water and took out the clean ring, still beaming. The ring would make it so much easier for her to take over Asgard. Instead of having to sway every man individually, she could them all to heel within seconds as the barriers encircled Asgard.

The ring began to glow, a sort of shimmer that passed over the scale like emeralds. Lorelei frowned. What was it doing?

Then it zapped her. Lorelei jerked her hand back with a cry and the ring clattered against the edge of the table and onto the ground. Ice spread across the floor where the ring touched and Lorelei cradled her hand to her chest. Svanr ran over and touched her arm, trying to see what was wrong.

Lorelei shoved him away, not liking the idea of being manhandled. Svanr stumbled over the debris and fell to the ground in a heap, looking up her with a truly hurt expression. She ignored him and slowly uncurled her fingers from her injured hand. The palm was stained blue by frostburn, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the distress Lorelei felt.

"Bastard," Lorelei swore, her voice jumping an octave. " _Bastard_! You hexed your ring!"

"Mistress?" Svanr asked worriedly as he slowly stood, looking from her hand to the ring.

No, Lorelei thought in despair. All of that power and she couldn't touch his ring. If anyone but Loki handled it, it was cursed to defend itself. She was hardly surprised that it gave the victim frostburn as Loki was Jötunn, but the very fact that it had a way to protect itself!

Lorelei pooled her magic to the injured hand, watching the frostburn recede as the cells warmed and returned to their rightful color. Her mission had just become more difficult. Until she could figure out how to get past the defenses Loki had implemented on his ring she'd have to manually sway Asgard's men. It was just like last time she had tried her takeover, only this time, she would win. All she had to do was get control of the ring and echo her magic. First step, get an army to keep her safe while she worked.

"Svanr," Lorelei ordered with a coo. "Please, can you bring your squadron to me?"

Her pleading enhanced her charm, and Svnar's will slipped away even further. "That would be wonderful. They should know of your beauty as well."

"Do not mention that you are taking them to see me," Lorelei implored. "Let it be a pleasant surprise."

"Whatever you wish," Svanr bowed.

"Bring them in as large of numbers as possible," Lorelei ordered thoughtfully. "And bring some real warriors. The Blood Wolves look classy but they're useless."

That wounded Svanr, as he was a Blood Wolf, but he nodded again anyway. His ego didn't matter. All that mattered was Lorelei.

Lorelei wondered who, besides himself, Loki would allow to access his ring. There had to be _someone_. He was too smart not to allow anyone access. What if something happened to him in battle and he fell? Someone had to be able to use his ring in his place, at least to get him to safety.

"Bring me a Raven Blade as well," she told Svanr as she got an idea, "but no females. They would only be jealous of my beauty."

"A beauty to which there are no bounds," Svanr assured her before he left.

Her manmagic was still imperfect. Females were immune to the charm that altered her targets' will. The female warriors and mages would be the greatest threat and there were nearly a dozen shieldmaidens among the Raven Blades. They, along with Amora, Lorelei's twin, had been key to her defeat last time.

Lorelei waited until Svanr's footsteps faded before she knelt by the ring. She quickly scooped it up and set it on the table without incident. It seemed it would burn her only if she tried to access its power. Perhaps one of the Raven Blades could safely use it. Unless she could sway Loki or another member of the royal family she figured it would be her best chance.

"Well, well, well," a voice chimed in amusement. "The Siren is up to her old tricks, is she?"

Lorelei turned sharply in the direction of the voice that was obviously not Svanr's, breath hissing between her teeth. She recognized it was a man's voice and thought it should be easy to thrall him, though any possibility of that vanished when she saw the intruder leaning against the doorway watching her. It was Freyr Njördson, a fellow inmate of the black cells that had escaped with her. A scowl flittered across her face before she forced a smile.

"Freyr," Lorelei greeted him lightly. "I'm surprised to see you. I thought for certain you would be shadowing your dear sister Freyja and trying to kill her again."

"I'll track down Freyja," Freyr smiled back at her, "never you fear. You might as well stop grinning at me in the meantime. I'm immune to your manmagic."

Lorelei sighed and raised her hands to accent her shrug. "Oh well, can't blame a girl for trying."

She leaned against the table to hide the ring from sight. Freyr didn't seem to have realized it was there and she did not want him to see it. It was hers. If he saw it he'd take it from her and she wouldn't be able to stop him. Why, of all the men on Asgard, was the only man immune to her manmagic the one to greet her?

"So," Lorelei smiled instead, "what are you up to? I find it unlikely that this would be a social call."

"Has Chthon contacted you telepathically?" Freyr asked, confirming that it was no social call.

"No," Lorelei frowned. "I find it odd."

Chthon was one of the only Elder Gods that had survived the Fallen War brought on by the discovery of Fel. He went by many names within and outside of the Nine Realms, and he had taken notice of the inmates of the black cells, Asgard's highest-level security lock up. He had trained and enhanced the inmates without Asgard's notice. The Elder God had told them one day they would be free of their cells to carry out his orders and they _would_ obey him as compensation for the enhancements. Once they were done they were free to do as they pleased.

It was strange then that Chthon had not given them orders now that the inmates were free. Lorelei found it as unlikely Freyr did that Chthon, also known as the Other – Thanos's right hand man, would forget about them. Now was the perfect time for Chthon to take advantage of the chaos and eliminate Asgard's government, opening the way to the Chitauri fleet. Their first attempt to "annex" the Nine Realms had failed at New York. Surely, they'd be eager to correct that failure.

"Has there been any sign of Dalkr or Ullr?" Freyr traced his lower lip with his thumb as he thought about it.

"Dalkr's gone realm-hopping," Lorelei rolled her eyes skyward. "For _some reason_ he thinks he's going to find Loki on Midgard. He wants a rematch."

Freyr made a distasteful face, disliking the fact that Chthon had given that lunatic all the training and upgrades had given Freyr and the others.

"Ullr is likely sulking because his bow was taken from the Weapon's Vault along with _your sword_ ," Lorelei pointed the comment at Freyr.

Freyr narrowed his eyes at her, but Lorelei continued.

"Knowing Dain, I'm certain he's back on Vanaheim searching for his _dear Nira_ ," Lorelei said with a coo. "Rune mages… It might be wise to catch him before he finds Nira. Double the rune mages means double the trouble."

"We've spread out," Freyr observed. "Why would Chthon wait for us to scatter? We can't form a fighting force separated."

Lorelei had wondered the same thing.

"Unless," Freyr said softly, lowering his hand to his side. " _That's_ his plan. He wants us on every realm so we can hit them all simultaneously. He doesn't want to bring down Asgard _first_. He wants to hit them all at once."

"Ambitious," Lorelei said with a laugh, thinking Freyr was probably right. As an Elder God, Chthon didn't think small scale. "With the Nine Realms focused on the Celestials, our attack would blindside them. It might work. I can't believe Asgard never found out about Chthon's influence. What a fool Odin is."

"What makes you think he didn't know?" Freyr asked softly.

Lorelei's laugh petered off, and she looked at Freyr curiously. "Hmm? Does Chthon's favorite pet have something to say?"

"I am not Chthon's pet," Freyr told her defensively. "He simply trusts me more then you."

Lorelei crossed her arms and huffed.

"Chthon hinted that Asgard knew of our allegiance with him." Freyr admitted as he looked down the empty street, knowing Lorelei wouldn't drop it.

"The House of Odin is full of traitors," Lorelei mused, unaware she was quoting King Laufey.

She was more on point with that statement then she would ever know.

"Will you wait for reinforcements before you attempt to kill Freyja?" Lorelei asked with a taunting edge. "Sumarbrander was taken from the Weapons Vault by the Celestials."

"I know they took my sword," Freyr told him flatly. "If I still had her I would have already killed Freyja."

"That's right," Lorelei sighed. "You consider your sword a living being."

"Sumarbrander isn't sentient," Freyr agreed, "but Annalayana, the Wraith sealed inside it, is. My bond with her is the reason you can't enthrall me with your manmagic. You never could."

Irritation made it too hard for Lorelei to keep smiling and she scowled at him. She hated his Wraith.

"Anna's more loyal to me than your tin army is to you," Freyr continued with a level look at her. "I imagine she's waiting patiently for me to get her back from the Celestials. Once you're _muzzled_ your spell will break and your soldiers will be loyal Æsir again."

Lorelei moved forward, image blurring as she ran so fast her shadow was left behind from her body for a moment. Freyr didn't flinch as Lorelei stopped in front of him, the dagger she had up her sleeve on one of his carotid arteries. The air tugged his clothes back.

Instead of flinching or even blinking, Freyr actually smiled at the position he was in and chuckled. Lorelei tilted her poison ivy green eyes up at him.

"What is so funny?" She demanded as she applied pressure to the blade.

A trickle of blood ran down Freyr's neck.

"You," Freyr laughed again. "You call me Chthon's pet and yet you have learned his shadowspeed – his trick of moving fast enough that your shadow can't keep up with you."

Lorelei pulled her lips back in disgust at Freyr's humor. Was it truly impossible to scare him?

Freyr reached up and calmly pushed Lorelei's wrist and the blade away from his throat. "You take things too seriously Lorelei. You implied a threat in my wording where there was none. I have no intention of muzzling you. If you want to watch someone then I suggest Loki. Given how far he went to keep the Celestials away from Asgard I'm certain he'll kill you."

"Unlike _you_ , I can enthrall him," Lorelei smiled.

"I wonder," Freyr said in a lilting voice akin to a purr.

Lorelei lowered the blade, but did not remove her eyes from Freyr's. He was too good at getting under her skin.

"Stop glaring," Freyr scolded her. "Go play with your magic, Lorelei. I'll kill my sister. Freyja's immune to your manmagic. One would think you'd be happy that I'm eliminating one of your enemies. Her death would make you crowning yourself Queen of Asgard much easier."

"How do I know you won't target me after you finish with Freyja?" Lorelei asked. "Don't you want Asgard's throne?"

"The game of thrones doesn't interest me," Freyr disagreed. "All I want is my birthright, the birthright Freyja stole from me. Once I kill her, I will have my magic back."

"All this drama over a little magic," Lorelei shook her head and slipped her dagger back up her sleeve as she turned away. "Most males want nothing to do with a woman's art."

"Most men are fools," Freyr snorted. "Odin got the Odinforce from his older brothers' lifeforce after they were killed. Freyja stripped me of my magic so she could become more powerful, nearly killed me. She has all of the magic she was born with plus mine. I will rectify that."

Freyr's onyx eyes became serious, more serious then Lorelei was used to them being. They lightened again after a few seconds and he smiled at her, evidently confident he would defeat Freyja this time. He had failed last time, and that had led to his incarceration. Without so much as a bow in her direction, he turned and calmly walked from Lorelei.

Lorelei made a face in his direction. Freyr might not be a mage anymore, but he was one of the best swordsmen the realm had. She did not look forward to what might happen if he got his magic on top of that, but even without his magic or his favored sword, Lorelei still wasn't strong enough to beat him.

She watched Freyr walk away, the scabbard of the sword he had likely stolen from a Star Guard tapping against his leg. He was going to be trouble later. Lorelei would bet on it.


End file.
